Caught Up
by RinnyEjito12
Summary: She wasn't a hero like Gingka. She didn't have some amazing power that made people adore and follow her. She was just a shy blader, not meant to have her own legend. That didn't stop Fate from getting her caught up in one. *Tell me to continue!*
1. Chapter 1: Beginnings

Hey Everyone! Rinny here, with possibly a new chapter story! As far as it goes, I can't go with the academy story. It would've never balanced out in a way I liked. I apologize for wasting you time! D:

But I'm here now to make up for it! ...Sorta.

I've never developed my Rin character well, seeing as there's 3 Rin's in this archive and already a lot of people with 'Griffin' as a partner. (I'm pretty sure there's another Shadow Griffin too.) So I sorta changed Rin's partner. Y'know how Storm Pegasus became Galaxy Pegasus and then Big Bang Pegasus? I'm sorta doing that to Rin's bey, but a little different! ...You'll see.

I gotta put Rin out there! She needs to prove herself as something more than a semi-dorky, shy video-gaming girl with a huge crush on Nile! Here's the beginning of her fiery legend!

...Which is what I wanna say. I'm still kinda debating it. I love Rin, and want to put her out there, and make her her own legend. In the end, it's up to you guys. If you enjoy this little thing, then tell me to continue. If you don't, this'll disappear. I'll also ask you guys questions throughout the story if I proceed, like should Nile end up with Rin, or reject her, or never learn her feelings? Should I include another couple? (I'm thinking MadoKyou hints here and there but only cuz I love love love that couple. Haters gonna hate.)

Granted, this won't ONLY be a romance story. Rin will be put in many challenges she must face, she'll pass and fail in her own way.

I hope you guys will consider it. Writing while knowing people want to read it will only pump my enthusiasm. Please and Thank you.

**I, fortunately for the one person who sent msgs to my e-mail randomly telling me to stop writing, do not own Metal Fight Beyblade. I do own A Vulcan Horuseus and a notebook full of drawings but that gets me nowhere, huh.**

**I do own Rin, her family, her bey, her 3DS and a copy of the game she's playing. And why yes, she is a violent gamer. XD**

* * *

><p>"Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Diediediediedie."<p>

She had to admit, watching her usually quiet friend mutter violently and occasionally curse was entertaining. The guys' expressions would be priceless.

The pale-eyed girl was mashing the X and Y buttons on her newly bought 3DS. Sounds of a character and swords being swung were heard in the quiet shop. The most comical, was the girls position. Her hair had long lost its ribbon and very loose braid and now fanned out, nearly touching the floor as she was propped upside-down on the couch, her feet hanging off the back of it, against the wall. The gaming device was centimeters away from her face as her features were scrunched up in anger at the game.

If Madoka hadn't known her since she first moved to Japan, she honestly wouldn't have recognized the girl.

"Dammit Kullervo, just die already! ... YES! That's right! Who's awesome, you evil demon thing!"

The mechanic couldn't take it anymore and burst into laughter. It was simply too much. Rin's reaction to winning the game was too silly. Never, in the time of knowing Rin, had she thought the girl would ever speak those words.

She began spinning in her desk chair, and as she passed the couch facing away from her desk, she was met with a flying pillow to the head.

"Damn you."

Her laughter began again with new vigor. Her sides began to hurt as she became dizzy with her spinning.

"Oh, Rin! Hahah... You've been -haha..- learning from t-that fire guy... in that game...Reino?"

"His name's Rempo!" The girl defended, a familiar blush meeting her skin, which slightly darker than Madoka's. Realizing how in love with the game she sounded, her blush increased. "M-Madoka! Stop laughing at me!" She whined.

Her laughter began dying down, much to the relief of the other girl. She was still in giggles when Rin had saved and turned off the game, planning to see the cutscene later.

"Oh man... you're too caught up in that game... Especially that one guy."

The two stood, and decided it was getting late. They began walking upstairs to lock up the store and since Rin was staying over, if only to get away from her younger brother's glares, they would get some dinner and hang on the couch with some good ol' TV.

"That 'one guy'? Please tell me you don't mean Anwar!"

Madoka giggled as Rin's voice got higher. All Rin was doing was proving her point.

"Yeah, him! You were all depressed about what happened to him!"

"I... I wasn't! Besides, it was sad! He was a sweetie!"

"That, or you just have a major soft spot for 'men of the great desert'!"

Now 15-year old and still shy as hell Ejito Rin resorted to blushing and making her light eyes contrast greatly against her now dark skin and darker hair as Madoka sent a sly grin and wink her way. She wasn't implying...! She didn't mean Ni-!

"Ejito-san, I didn't know you felt that way about me."

That voice.

No.

Wait, no.

Oh no. Nonononono.

She froze in place, and stared at her friend, refusing to move. The brunette mechanic face scrunched up in joy and looked like she was holding back more laughter. Her curosity got the better of her while she shut her eyes tight and she, despite being scared for her life like in a really bad horror movie when you know the girl's gonna die in a really stupid and totally avoidable way, turned around to meet the boy she's looked up to for a _while._

Instead of meeting smoldering emerald eyes that haunted her mind, she was meet with dark grey eyes that gleamed with what she recognized as amusement. No... way.

"Ku-Kumanazo-kun!"

"Bingo, oh hero of 'Kaleila'."

The pale older blader chuckled, his aristocratic features moving gracefully with laughter at the younger girl's expense. Both he and Madoka could agree, messing with this one was great fun.

"Good job, Kenshin! Your impressions are getting better and better!"

Rin was shocked to say the least. She had really heard her crush's voice. But, how could she fall for it! He's bound to be comfortable in his own home somewhere in his own country! Like he would randomly be in Japan! She felt so stupid!

"I must apologize, dear Rin. It was a very tempting opportunity that I just couldn't resist." The handsome blader bowed lightly and sent a grin her way. She nodded, not really phased by it. She knew nothing was meant by the teasing, Madoka tried it almost every time. Somehow leading their conversations to the Egyptian blader. She heard Madoka and Kenshin talking for a little and Madoka putting his Pandam in his palm, he casually and almost poeticly complimenting them from time to time. At last, he bid them good-bye as he stated he was going to try to explore some other city in this country, but if he misses their beauty, he'd be back in a heartbeat. With a wink, no less.

Rin was still in a daze when she giggled with Madoka at the endless flirt Kenshin was. He had always said men don't praise women enough, and his flirtations were for the girl to feel better about themselves, not hit on.

The girls proceeded to walk upstairs, Madoka's father still absent due to whatever it was he did. Rin's mind was on the blader Kenshin had voiced. What would it be like if Nile found out how she felt? They weren't close enough to be friends. He could just reject her and step out of the small part of her life he was in. The thought of that made her chest tighten. He'd walk out, never come back and... and...

She didn't realize she had eaten, watched a rerun of some odd comedic anime, and been put to bed on the extra couch Madoka had in her room until she found she couldn't finish that sentence. How would things turn out if _he_ left her life? It shouldn't be a big deal, she was 15. a silly crush she was way too shy to act on shouldn't mean much. She thought of her new favorite game. The thought of one you cared for being in a place where you couldn't reach them, whether by their own will or not, whether they cared for you or not, still hurt.

At least in the game you could bring them back...

_Face it,_ she whispered to herself, hearing Madoka's steady breathing along with her voice. _He won't ever like you. Give it up._

_This isn't a game. You're no hero._

Her head was beginning to ache along with her chest, as she turned over and snuggled closer to her pillow and pulled the blanket closer to her figure.

_I'm too caught up with men of the desert.._.

* * *

><p>I love writing Kenshin, but have no idea if I'm making him as great as Chaos did in her story. XD He has the making of a great actor, and is friendly with those two girls. He doesn't really emote much, but he's fine with smiling at them X3 He's also learning about voice impressions. So far he can do Gingka, Kenta, and as you read, Nile! :DD<p>

I might've said this before, but Rin's comfortable with Madoka, so she doesn't stutter. It's more habit for her than anything else. Believe me, writing her stuttering is major fun for me.

The game they're talking about is Avalon Code, a game I really enjoy. It's a great RPG for the DS, well for me anyway. Kaleila is the kingdom you live in, Kullervo is the final boss and Anwar is an adorable NPC! I do not own that game, just my own copy. Anwar's my sweetheart in it! :D I won't spoil it that much but he is of the desert and me and Rin had huge soft spots for that type ;D.

It's mostly adventuring and not romantic, but all the more fun with the romance scenes XD

Anyway, not much to say. Good-bye and Good Night, Readers!


	2. Chapter 2: Just Trust Me Already!

O' my gosh, you all are such sweethearts XD

I just...

I love too many people now!

Anwar: ...

O-Oh! Anwar! I didn't see you there!

Anwar: You... don't love me,.. anymore?

N-n-n-no! I still love you! I just mean that this people are so amazing!

Lauca Meia: What about Lauca?

My maleself loves you, missy. Let's not get into that!

Anwar: This is getting longer...

Oh, you're right! I should probably get onto the story! You two want to stay and watch?

Lauca and Anwar: *both nod*

Okay then! Thank you to all the lovely people who reviewed and the 60+ hits I randomly checked! I love you all slightly less than I love Anwar (*cough and Nile cough*) and less than my maleself loves Lauca!

Anwar: Who's Nile?

U-uh! **I do not own Metal Fight Beybade. I do own Rin in her entirity. Anwar and Lauca are from Avalon Code. The dream scenes were a collab between me and one friend of mine, John! Please ENJOY!**

Anwar: Who's John?

* * *

><p><em>'Reach your arms out...'<em>

_A quiet groan was heard, as the pale-eyed girl, fully dressed and no room, blanket, couch, or friend in sight, raised her body to sit up. Her head ached, throbbing as she tried to think. The world was black around her, and she felt no solidness around her, she could just be floating in a space. That wasn't normal, was it? _

_No Madoka, no familiar sounds of traffic in Metal City, she couldn't even hear the voice of her partner in her head. _

_"W-where am I...? H...hello!"_

_'Reach your arms out and recieve me...'_

_A roar was heard, and a scene appeared in front of her. She could've jumped, had she been able to move. The scene was something out of a bad movie. She saw the bird's-eye view of her home, Metal City. The place she'd come to love was burning. The buildings ripped apart and an amazingly-huge crater in the very center, the park dismantled. She saw the heads of the people as they ran, and them stopping short. She couldn't see from her angle, but she only hoped they hadn't become frozen for a reason she simply couldn't fathom in her mind. Screams and roars from unsure sources plagued her mind._

_The building of B-Pit was seen, and Rin shut her eyes because she simply did not want to see this anymore. _

_**Move.**_

_More pictures popped up, and Rin turned away to see them, hoping for something—__**anything**__—to be better than what she had just seen. Fate didn't take pity, and she was thoroughly saddened upon seeing the same thing in various places. Fires burning through cities; Up north, ice growing and startling animals and human alike, before being totally incapacitated; Overgrown forests taking over complete towns and suburbs; Lightening storms over unexpecting villages. Various languages being shouted, claps of thunder, and crashing..._

_The very thoughts of what was happening in these moving images scared her to no end. Without much to do, she fell to her knees, barely noticing no subtle pain came is as it should had she been on a floor just now. It felt hard to move. Shutting her eyes tight, and covering her ears, softening the sounds around her. What was happening? This wasn't real, this isn't normal._

_Stop._

_In._

_Out._

_Breathe._

_Here's where she screams, she wakes up, and she'll be in bed where her mother could come in and reassure her everything was okay. _

_**Breathe.**_

_'You shall obtain my heart's desire...'_

_...What? She couldn't... That wasn't Gryphon's voice... That most certainly wasn't hers! What kind of bad dream was this?_

_'Reach your arms out and recieve me... for you shall attain my heart's desire...'_

_The images were gone, and she was left alone with the darkness. She imagined she was blind for a moment, and turned her head left and right, trying to see something._

_**Anything.**_

_'Let us bind a deal between us...'_

_Please... just let me wake up.._

_Wake up..._

_..._

"Wake up!"

She shot forward, out of breath and sweating. The pillow was thrown off it's place on top of her head, the blanket following. In surprise at her friend's sudden awakening, Madoka lost her hold on the tray in her hands. It flew up, its contents along with it. The tray quickly succumbed to gravity, the food following short after. Eggs and bacon were scattered on the hard floor, the plate falling with a hard '_clang!_'. Rin stood quickly, mouth opened to apologize, when an orange liquid rained down upon them. The mechanic's eyes narrowed sharply when the glass fell to the floor and rolled to her feet.

"I..! Madoka, I'm...!

The brunette held up a hand to prevent Rin from rambling. It was too early for her to spend the day saying sorry.

"No worries," she said, enough though a million and one apologies were on the tip of her friend's mouth, "let's just get us and the room cleaned up. Then, we can figure out what to do for breakfast. You follow me?"

Rin nodded stiffly and rushed to the closet where Madoka kept her cleaning supplies. No apologizing. Got it.

The mechanic was picking up the plate, tray and glass when she thought about the dark-haired girl's outburst. Her eyes were wild, frightened, and completely not Rin-like. Sure, the girl was easily-scared, just take a look at her after a stupid horror movie, but she looked completely frozen in fear. _Like fear for your life frozen._

A crash was heard and a tiny 'oww...' down the hallway and the brunette sighed, now picking up the blanket and pillow.

_Today's gonna be a long day._

* * *

><p>"Madoka? Why are we here?"<p>

The two stood in front of the moderate building that was a five minute walk from B-Pit. Rin felt slightly pale. The name of her mother's hotel taunted her.

"Well, since you drenched me in an orange juice shower, you'll be treating me to a buffet breakfast! Courtesy of Kokishin Inn!"

Rin checked the time on a nearby street clock. 9:34. Her mother didn't start at the front desk for another half hour or so. This was also the time her younger brother lounged around the dining hall. Great...

"C'mon! I'm starved!"

Her stomach churned in agreement, and Rin, knowing more of the hotel than Madoka, began leading the way. Almost immediately upon entering the large cafeteria, she managed to lock eyes with the younger boy sent here from America. It was odd how he could just sense her and know when to glare.

She looked away after a few seconds under his gaze. He was too intimidating sometimes.

She let Madoka go choose what they would eat, knowing the older mechanic would want to try so much and leave enough for her to eat. Rin sat a table near the windows and didn't dare look around the large room. Kami forbid she met someone's eyes, especially the prideful American's.

The shy blader's eyes felt heavy, sleepiness unusually settling in around her. She was known for staying awake, not dozing off.

...Five minutes wouldn't hurt, would it?

* * *

><p><em>"Is she really the one?"<em>

_"Yup! I choose her!"_

_"Gods, you're so **weird**. I highly doubt she'll be able to do it."_

_"Hey! Have a little faith in my decisions! ...Oh! She's waking up! Go away, you!"_

_Darkness. This place again. Please no..._

_"Ejito Rin, right?"_

_Movement felt easier this time around, so being able to move her head to the source of the voice speaking out took no energy from her. Not far from her being, was a light. A bright yellow light that seeming to flutter left and right. Huh..?_

_"Yup, you're definitely mine."_

_"H-Huhh...? Where...are y-you!"_

_"I'm right here!"_

_The light moved closer, until it was right in front of her face, just above her nose. the girl yelped in surprise and stepped back, to see this orb more clearly._

_"I can't quite tell you _who_ I am yet, but I can tell you one thing."_

_Rin tilted her head in confusion. Whatever this.. voice was, was scaring her. In curiosity, she jutted her finger out and poked at the orb._

_"F-first... _w-what_ are you?"_

_"I said I can't tell you that! Now trust me on this. You have to get out of Japan. Today, tonight, whatever. Just leave the country by midnight, alright?"_

_That shocked the 15-year old. **Leave** Metal City? She'd barely set foot out of the surrounding suburbs of the city since she first got here! True, she dreamt of traveling, but she never thought to go through with it!_

_"I c-can't do that!"_

_"Why not? Trust me! You gotta leave!"_

_"H-how can I...? By tonight? I'm only 15! My m-mom wo-!"_

_"Think of something! Some excuse or whatever. Plane tickets are easy to snag, I can take care of that. You, however, need to convince your mom and friends about letting you. You can't bring _anyone_, alright?"_

_"I... I'm not getting a-any of this!"_

_"By midnight! No objections!"_

...

"Hey, Rin?"

Rin awoke less startled this time, her eyes slowly opening as Madoka set her food down on the table. She picked her head up, staring at the amount of food the other girl had.

"Wow..."

"Well, it _is_ for the both of us! Are you okay, though? You seem really tired. You aren't one to doze off."

"U-umm..." That dream was invading her mind. The voice kept insisting to trust it. If she did and found a way out of Japan, then she could see the world, if only for a little bit. That was her dream, right? Maybe along the way, she could meet strong bladers, maybe like Kyouya or Gingka, and battle and get stronger!

A thought that refused to be ignored in her head. _The world's a scary place. Bad people remain everywhere. A weak person like her would get devoured._

_**It didn't have to be scary.**_

_**Nice people remained as well.**_

_**She could always get**_** stronger.**

Nope, scaring herself out of it didn't work. Maybe she could go through with it. The voice just asked to leave the country, right? Anything after could be up to her. No big deal.

"I.. sorta need my sleep, y'know? I'm gonna be on a long plane trip..."

Madoka, her mouth open to receive the piece of syrup-drenched hotcakes, froze upon hearing those words. The fork stayed in mid-air as she stared at the shy, still tired-looking blader.

The fork was placed back on its plate, a serious look now in Madoka's eyes.

"What was that, Ejito Rin?"

"I'll—! I'll explain everything soon!" _I'll lie to you all. _"We need my mom first!" _Please, forgive me one day._

_Just trust me on this._

_Allow me to be selfish. _

* * *

><p>"Kasumi, why was I needed again?"(Let's be clear, Jaiden speaks in only English.)<p>

"Jaiden-kun, Rin said she had something very important to say. Please, just listen to her."

"Pfft. Whatever."

The navy blue-eyed 11 1/2 year old boy sat in a room joined to the lobby. One could call it the office of Rin's mom, Ejito Kasumi, but it was far too messy to do any work in. He sat on the arm of the couch both the older woman and one of Rin's friends sat.

He waited all of five seconds before his... _ugh_... half sister walked in. Whatever she had to say was of no interest to him. She was just another meaningless brown leaf on his awesome _American_ family tree. Nothing to worry about.

Her manner surprised him a bit, he had to admit. She was walking with some sort of confidence, something she had never done. The look on her face completely contradicted that confidence, she was sweating, her face flush and looking anywhere but the other people in the room.

He had been a New Yorker long enough in his life to know whatever came out of her mouth would be complete and utter bullshit.

"I... I'm going to find my father. I'm going to travel to track him down." The girl gulped before finishing.

"I'm leaving tonight."

* * *

><p>Me: *falls over* I DID IT!<p>

Anwar: *catches me* So who's Nile and John?

Me: John's a buddy, Nile's for Rin. You're my desert boy XD

Anwar: *blushes and stands me upright* ...

Lauca: Shouldn't Dee explain a little?

Me: Oh right! The whole dream thing with Rin will be revealed soon. It was odd writing that, but it has a reason. And so I reveal what the hell I'mma be writing about! That's right! Rinny here will be traveling the world, for a reason she doesn't quite know yet! She'll just be using the excuse of finding her daddy! She's not used to being a rulebreaker, so lying is a huge no-no, and thus she's horrid at it XD She also thinks her following her dream so suddenly is selfish and conceited, so she feels guilty as well. Also, a small tidbit into her brother's mind. Madoka is a bit OOC, but only cause Rin's a frail weak girl who needs protection XD and not cause I'm making excuses.

I honestly wasn't expecting to update this quick! I sorta want to get into things, but I'll slow it down next chapter. That is, if you guys stick with me after this one XDD


	3. Chapter 3: GoodBye Metal City!

Okay then! Chapter 3! I'm actually going places and people are reviewing! I sort of missed the chapter-story way. I now want to devote myself wholly to this. I've also become a sort of review-whore, but I'll get over it XD

I must apologize though, I don't mean to trick you. I won't normally be able to update every 2 days or so. I have school tomorrow and Monday, but the rest of the week I have off because of Senior/Junior testing. If wanted, I might just update again by then, and I own 2 people one-shots.

After that however, I can never be sure. A new quarter means new material to study and go through. Bare with me, if you please.

I'm hoping I'm not biting off more than I can chew...

Here's to a future less-stressed Rinny the authoress!

I said I'd slow it down, but I hit sort of the middle. I just wrote Rin's departure really, with more tidbits into Jaiden and Rin's heads. Though still not introduced officially, Shadow Gryphon makes appearances. More depth for Rin's mommy. Huzzah! I still enjoy writing Rin's doubtfulness, cluelessness and stuttering XD But writing her standing up a bit is getting kind of fun too.

If anyone can catch a small note of a vocaloid song, I'll write them a request to be called at a later date. Maybe February break. Good Luck :D

**Do YOU remember the day I owned Metal Fight Beyblade? No?... Nope, me neither.**

* * *

><p><em>When, where, this, what! Surely...<em>

_WHAT!_

Jaiden's voice rang clear, through the lobby of the building and into the near streets.

"WHAT THE FUCKIN' 'ELL?" His still boyish voice in English shocked the girl in the center of the room. She was a bit confused on what he said, when she realized he said the word so fast that the 'h' in the last word had been muted... Oh...

A black power surged near her hip where her pocket was, a familiar voice now rearing its head.

_"Hush, Gryphon. He has every right to be like that."_

Her mother and Madoka seemed too shocked for words. Jaiden was the only one animated, now standing and his fists clenched. His pale skin was now flushed red, only with anger and his eyes filled with hatred towards the girl.

"_I want to find Dad, Jaiden. _Please, it's something I need to do."

The sudden tone in his sister's voice shocked the anger clear out of the younger boy. Sure, he had barely heard her speak two words for the five months he's been here,(Plenty enough time to learn Japanese, _thank you very much._) but if he did, it was usually so quiet, he had to ask for her to repeat it. (This one was _frustrating!_) What had gotten into her?

H... had she just spoken English?

Kasumi had risen by this time, noticing the shock replacing anger in her ex-husband's son. She moved closer to her daugher, causing the girl to jump and fidget and lose whatever confidence she had when speaking to Jaiden.

"Rin, how long have you been planning something like this..?" She gently asked, knowing her little girl could never hope to hide something this big from them like that.

The girl that looked up at her was that three-year old she pushed gently onto that plane to Japan, misty eyes and all. Then, her daughter surprised even her. The pale violet eyes that looked so much like _his_ steeled slightly and the flush seemed to retreat.

"A... A few months now, Mom..." Kasumi could see the struggle not to stutter, to make her words come out clear and taken seriously. "I was afraid... you wouldn't let me..." The sadness in that sentence alone was enough to make the mother's heart melt, but a small overprotective side of her warned her that her child had no idea what she was saying. The image of this girl, barely the age of three, asking ever so innocently why her father wouldn't follow them on the plane.

What did a mother do in this situation...?

That was when she realized the 15-year old now reached her shoulders. Her composure always made her seem younger and smaller in physical appearance. Now, she had suddenly grown years before her eyes. Her daughter refused to be seen as weak anymore, if only to let her go, leave for however long this trip could be.

"I say, let her go, Kasumi-san."

Everyone turned their eyes to Madoka, the older teen here. A small smile was placed on her face, her sapphire blue eyes staring at Rin sadly.

"I know this is more a family problem, but Rin seems like she needs this. Look at her, I don't think she'll back out."

The relatives turned to the girl in question once more, the pale eyes asking, wishing, _pleading_, for the answer she was hoping for.

"On one condition."

Rin's hopes fell down as she heard Jaiden speak Japanese, with only a slight twinge of an accent. The look in his eyes was unforgiving and she swore she saw the hatred come back. Her younger brother sounded and looked like his word was law, and no objections would be accepted.

"I have to go with you."

* * *

><p>After all was said and done, Rin thanked Kami over and over against her bedroom door, that he wasn't allowed. Jaiden could even <em>think<em> to accept that.

_"Like this one could get anything done on her own!"_

_**She still needed to prove that. That's sort of why she was **__**going**__**.**_

_"You really expect a weakling like her find Dad?"_

_**She would apologize for lying when they were older, she couldn't find another excuse.**_

_"It's HARD for her? What about me? He's my father too!"_

_**Oh, she knew that well. She remembered Dad being just as stubborn as Jaiden had been.**_

_**But it was her journey. Hers to take alone. **_

A lot of firsts today for her, she noted. Feigning confidence was a hard feat, so many times she fought the urge to slink back and retreat, go to the game room, and forget all of it. It was like she was playing with a light switch, and preffered to the darkness over knowing what was it the room. On and off. Her confidence never liked being on so much.

_'The nerve of that child, Rin! Honestly, are you completely sure he's your relative?'_

She had completely forgotten her partner. Locked in her thoughts, she found she was still pressed against the door of her room, it firmly locked and her left to her own devices. She had informed the loyal bey partner of everything, relieved that he believed her and heartily agreed to the trip. He agreed with all her thoughts, and encouraged her, just as he promised.

"Yes, Gryphon. O-Our dad's blood is in our v-veins. N-not the strongest c-connection, but there."

_'Some humans. If you are of the same pride, then why would he treat you that way?'_

She giggled at the mythological creature's comparision. "I... I honestly can't explain why... He just... d-does."

_'Haven't I taught you better? You don't deserve to be treated like that!'_

"R-right."

Not looking for a lecture, Rin looked around the room to see anything to distract her. On her somewhat neat desk, she saw a small rectangular paper. Curious, as that desk was for doodling and Kami knows she hadn't doodled in _forever,_ she walked over and plucked the paper off the surface and turned it over.

She nearly doubled over in shock at what it really was. Reading her name and various numbers and the name of the Metal City airport.

A plane ticket.

If she hadn't believed the voice in her dream, she sure did now. Now realizing, what would've happened if it was all fake? This ticket would've never appeared, and she would never be able to leave.

She had half a mind to think it was all going so fast. This morning, she was scared due to a bad dream and somehow convinced/pressured into leaving her home for Kami knows how long.

And honestly, she didn't regret one bit of it.

She'd miss Madoka, and her mother, and even Jaiden and the guys Madoka hangs out with, and she sort of wished she could bring all of them with her, but the voice was right when trusted once, so she stuck with trusting it on the whole 'come alone' thing.

She returned to her place of the door and her back met the surface with a soft 'thud'. Her feet became numb, and she suddenly felt dizzy. She sunk slowly to the floor in hopes of some sort of stability, her hand moving with its own mind when it placed Gryphon on the floor and gently spun it manually. The bey began a steady rhythm on its own, and a smaller, black-hued version of her loyal griffin formed in her eyes.

"Are you okay, Rin?"

"St-still doubtful... It's wrong for me to b-be this u-unsure, huh?"

"Of course not. You're doing this for your own good. Think of how you'll gain from this, okay? By the time we come home, we'll be Team Rin, a force to be reckoned with."

Rin laughed, despite herself. She watched as the griffin flew ariound at her eye level. Rin sighed and began to stand, testing her ability to stand before walking to her closet for things to pack. She supposed she should travel lightly, and hoped to be lucky that she was very protective of her money, and had been saving whatever amount of currency she could get her hands on to call her own since she knew what money could give you. To her, this could be just the thing she could waste her money away on. It'd be wonderful.

Trying not to dreaming about anything just yet, she finished packing things she thought were necessary. She had heard from one of the foreigners from Europe that backpacking across the world was one of the best ways to experience new places, not to mention all of the males Madoka's hung out with travel from place to place with only their beys and a small bag. She'd have to try it herself.

Tugging on a grey well-loved hoodie that was still a tad too big for her, reveling in the feel of it on the inside and shrugging on the backpack. She saw Gryphon still spinning and its spirit form nodding at her and the maybe-too-big smile of her face. The bey spun faster, then jumped up towards Rin, the black griffin disappearing into the metal as it landed into the girl's hand.

One last thing, she thought over after pulling different bills of Yen from various places and took any coins out that she could trade with her mother for more bills and put them safely on her bed for later counting. Finally, she turned to one of her most precious treasures, a world map pinned to her wall. Post-its hung in various places, pointing to various countries, odd tidbits about them she had learned over her years. Postcards and pictures Madoka took of some visits hung around the border.

_'Face it, after midnight tonight, Rin, this'll be our playground...'_

She nodded happily and began removing the pictures and then finally the map itself. She slipped the notes off and read a couple, wondering where she could start first. Where could she go, and what could she do. Who would she meet and how long she could do this.

Many questions, all to be answered in time, with an infinite amount of possible answers...

She gingerly picked up the plane ticket once more and turned it over and over. It didn't say a destination anywhere. Rin looked to the map once more, tears beginning to swell as she realized—so _many_ realizations today—she didn't care _where_ she started.

Flopping backwards on her bed, the last time she'd lay in it for days, weeks, months—maybe even a _year!—_and smiled brightly, the first time in a while. Maybe in this time, she really could find her father, and not have totally lied to her mother and brother. She didn't dare close her eyes in fear that she could wake up and this'll be but a dream of her wierd imagination, hearing her partner chuckle as she whispered to herself.

"It's really happening..."

Out of the corner of her eye, she swore she saw a tiny yellow light begin to appear. Heh, that wasn't possible, right? It just wasn't _normal_.

* * *

><p>Her mother was crying, Jaiden refused to look at her and Madoka was smiling, looking as proud as her mom was. It was a private good-bye, she simply wasn't close enough to any other special blader for her to invite them to her farewell.<p>

Blasted weather, it started raining just as they reached the airport. She hoped the rain didn't stop the plane or anything. Lucky, Ejito Kasumi was a big worry-wort and packed umbrellas in her car no matter what. Madoka, Jaiden and her mom were under one large umbrella, and Rin kept her white one to herself. It made the scene seem a bit too sad, she thought. It was 7:44 p.m. Her plane took off at 8:30, if no delays popped up. She didn't know much of airports, but didn't dare ask her mother, because dinner at the Kokishin Inn started soon and she couldn't pull her mother away from her job any longer than she had.

"M-Mom... I really should be going..."

She stepped closer to the small group's navy umbrella. Kasumi wiped her eyes briefly before pulling her only daughter into another tight hug. Rin almost dropped her umbrella and hugged the women she loved most in the world back. Rain drops snuck past the small gap between the umbrellas and onto the two.

"Rin-chan, please take care and be careful."

"I... I will, Mom."

"Know that if anything makes you want to come back, even if you just miss home a little bit, know we're a hop on a plane away, okay?"

"H-hai, Mom..."

"And are you su—"

"Kasumi, she'll never reach her plane if you drag this out."

Not that she enjoyed the harsh bluntness of her brother, but it made her let go of her mother, a good awakening she needed. She pulled away further as the woman stood up and shook with sniffles a bit more before nodding and stepping more into the protection of the umbrella.

She was sure to mouth a 'thank you' to her younger brother.

He was sure to send her a glare saying, "Don't think this is all for you!"

Madoka stepped up next. The girl's grin brought one of her own onto her face.

"Smile more, okay Rin? Show the world what you're made of."

"T-thanks, Madoka. I'll try my best."

"You're finally growing up..."

The smile turned bittersweet as the girls exchanged hugs, a bond of friendship still glowing even though distance was about to seperate them.

Madoka forced a laugh and began rambling off about taking care of Gryphon, and how she shouldn't do anything rash. Rin giggled to stop her and the mechanic stepped back with the other's mother.

Jaiden was last, and evidently the shortest good-bye. The glare disappeared and she tried to imagine softening eyes.

"Just don't get yourself killed, I won't ever forgive you!"

Ejito Rin nodded wholeheartedly and the younger boy shook his head.

"_You're so naive,_" he paused a little before adding, "_Bye Rin._"

"_Good-bye Jaiden. I'll miss you._"

No hug was shared that time, and Jaiden quickly looked away and firmly told the two sharing the umbrella with him that they should go. Rin couldn't stop waving until they were safely in the car, and were pulling out of the temporary parking spot in the 'Departures' lot. Her hand clenched the handle of the object shielding her from the rain.

She was alone, now. No other human to stop her from leaving, or from stopping this altogether and going home. No turning back now.

Checking for the fifteenth time that her ticket and passport was safely in her pocket, she turned to begin walking into the building.

Y'know, when she ran into someone.

She nearly fell to the ground, had that person not grabbed her arm and steadied her. The collision had, however, knocked the hood she had put up over her eyes, blocking most of her eyesight. Her backpack was slipping off her shoulders. How stupid could she be!

"I... I'm so s-sorry! I w-wasn't looking w-where I was going!"

The rain seemed to pick up, drumming hard against the umbrella and into her ears.

"It's alright. You're fine, right?"

She managed to hear that correctly, and confirmed the person as male. A blush formed and she was glad her hoodie was hiding her face. Through her cheated eyesight, she saw a blurry figure staring at the sky, at the rain. The wet feel of the person's arm on hers hinted that he himself was soaked, choosing to run out into the rain. She saw the lights of the building nearby, close enough for her to run quickly.

So she held the umbrella out to cover the figure.

"Huh..?" was the muffled sound she heard.

"Y-You can t-take this... I won't be n-needing it anymore..."

"I don't think..."

Rin cut him off by pushing the umbrella into his hands and took off for the dryness of the building. Water began seeping through her hoodie. She looked back through her blocked vision and waved slightly, hoping he still saw her.

"C-courtesy of Kokishin Inn! Welcome t-to Metal C-City!"

The blurred sight of the male standing under the umbrella brought a smile to her face for some reason, and she quickly entered the building, into the crowd of people leaving to various places, just like her.

Emerald eyes followed her as she disappeared into the group of people he had just left. Looking at the umbrella, he wondered why someone would possibly be so nice to a stranger, and a small thought in the back of his head wondered where she could possibly be going.

* * *

><p>I think I might be raising questions. I had one of my nicer cousins read this before anything else. He actually likes it and wants to read more. He's been pestering me with these questions:<p>

1. Where is Rin getting her on-and-off strength?

-Well, she really wants this. Due to her parents' stories of the world, she's always wanted to see it for herself. Her confidence needs a base to start with. That base is how much she really wants this.

2. What's up with Jaiden?

-Might be explained in major depth later. If you want the gist of it, read my profile I guess.

3. Rin's so unsure, and then happy...?

-She's a teen, first off. I've noticed not just from myself, but the various people around me that emotions can change in the blink of an eye. Rin's someone who's naturally very unsure of herself, but even self-doubt fades away to excitement over a big adventure.

4. 'What would a mother do...?' And Gryphon? His promise?

-Hey! My mother was helping me with this. She supplied with some ideas. Basically, this is my mom and how she would react. She told me as a mother, she constantly asked herself what would her own mother do in this position. Even Mom's have their own doubts if they're doing the right thing. Gryphon's been alongside Rin for years now, sort of a guardian, and an adult-figure. The promise is a secret. If anyone cares to know, I'll write about it later.

5. Last one: That guy at the end...?

-Has significance, yes. I let out hints, I'm pretty sure you guys can figure it out. ;D

Thanks for the support, you guys! You're awesome! Review if ya want~!


	4. Chapter 4: Don't have a clue!

Okay! Chapter 4! Whaddya know? This is happening! I must thank you all for the support you guys are giving me! I really wasn't expecting all of it! You guys don't how how much I was jumping in my seat everytime I saw in my e-mail that I got a review. Almost as much as I do when I see that Wave or Chaos has updated their stories XD

I want to get straight to the chapter now! Read now, explain things later!

**I do NOT own Metal Fight Beyblade. People would hate the show if I did. Haha...**

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><p>If there was one thing Rin swore to never forget from her childhood, yet still forgot it...<p>

It was how much she hated being in planes.

Memories came flooding back, her as a small, frail child, hugging a plush toy of a kitten while crying in her mother's skirt, all the other passengers just staring at her...

The loud noise of the take-off, the bumpiness of the ride, the odd 'pop' that frightened her when it sounded so close to her, but had no source.

Stepping onto the giant flying machine was like a bad memory in itself, since she always thought she'd fall in between the gap.

She quickly rushed over the gap and safely—sort of—on the plane. A flight attendant stopped her conversation with a co-worker to lead the scared girl to her seat. Rin was glad they passed the crowded classes of the plane, but was very surprised when she was seated in first class. She waited for 10 minutes, and only 3 other people were seated in the same class.

She chided herself, she couldn't have thought to look at her ticket close enough? How idiotic!

If 'The Voice' had picked out the ticket itself, she had to thank it if she ever saw- err _heard _it again. She had a large seat just to herself, the other passengers choosing to be all the way in the front of the space.

Then, the machine began moving. Rin quickly clenched the arm rests of the seat as the ride became bumpy, and she felt the turns of the aircraft she was in. Suddenly, it was speeding up. She prayed to Kami as she sunk more into the chair. A black power surged from its place in her bag and she was comforted, albiet a little bit.

The speed wasn't doing anything for her nerves, and she was thankful when she felt the wheels jump off the ground. As it made its ascend, she calmed her heart. She decided, on this trip, there wouldn't be a time for being scared, no exceptions, _ever_.

**She hoped.**

Soon enough, they were high enough for passengers to safely walk around. The frail girl unbuckled her seatbelt and quickly took out her bey. The pale brown and black-hued metal made her approaching headache fade and she pulled out the table in front of her to give the bey space to spin.

She was greeted with the flying image of her partner, him slowly but surely becoming used to spinning in the unusual environment.

"You doing okay?"

She had no trouble lowering her voice to a quiet mumble, knowing that people could not see her flying partner unless they too battled with a spirit.

"I'll be f-fine. I'll have t-to get used to it..."

The griffin landed, like he always did after a few moments in the air. He nodded and turned to the window.

"You could just travel on foot."

"E-Everywhere?" she squeaked.

"Hmm. I guess you're right. Flying might be a good way to travel. _Sometimes_."

The shy blader laughed quietly and looked out the window along with her spirit partner. The stars were coming out, she noticed, and she quickly pulled out her star chart. It was as precious to her as her map, and she quickly got herself aquinted with the stars she saw. She quickly spotted the North Star and then, only out of habit and memory, she located the star that began her own constellation.

She theorized with Madoka, that every bey had its own constellation in this world, for only this large, ever expanding universe could hold every single spirit in the beys on this planet. The constellations for Madoka's friends were easy to find, and already well-known. However, she didn't know a constellation for her partner, and aspired to find one, somewhere, somehow. She recently began to form one herself, with the stars that hovered around Metal City around November. She was almost done, she just needed to represent Gryphon's wings somehow. She could never get them just right...

"Rin."

The voice of her partner drew her out of her thoughts and she rested her head on the palm of her hand.

"Hmm?"

"You've been staring at that chart for 2 hours. Everyone's asleep."

Rin looked over into the aisle and saw the limp figures of the other passengers. A blanket was around a women and her child, and the last one was a man who looked like he was on a business trip, due to the suitcase at his side. She strained her ears to hear their light breathing. She sat back in her seat, and noticed the blanket and pillow beside her.

"G-Gryphon...?

'Yes, Rin?"

"I sort of... don't want to go to s-sleep."

Would her dream world be normal again? Would she wake up—or however she got there—in that place of darkness again? She had mixed feelings about hearing the Voice again, if she would.

"I'll be right here, fall asleep when you feel like it."

"O-okay."

She was really glad Gryphon was with her on this trip. Sure, they were partners, but her mother could've easily taken her bey away, had she thought Rin was going to do something rash with her beyblading. Gryphon was like another adult figure in her life, so she felt fine enough to close her eyes, just for a bit...

* * *

><p><em>Her mind awoke to a place full of light. She couldn't even comprehend if there was solid in this place. Just light.<em>

_Pure light, shining in her face. _

_It was a welcome contrast to her world of dark, but it confused her. She looked back and forth, for the orb. The only thing that could answer any of her questions. _

_Instead, she was met face to face with a young girl. _

_"Hiya!"_

_Rin jumped up and away, startled by the girl's outburst, and took her in, trying to understand at least a little. _

_The girl was very much like the area. She screamed 'Light!' Her clothes were unusual, and this was her videogamer mind here, like something out of a RPG, colored with pale shades of yellow. Her hair was cut short, and pure white. Her eyes were the only out of place thing on the girl, the dark grey eyes stuck out from her pale skin. _

_Another Rin found strange, to top off the whole list she was making in these few moments, was that the girl's bare feet were are Rin's waist level. _

_The girl was __floating__. _

_Not that Rin ever felt a solid ground to this area, but it really seemed like this one was floating._

_"E-Ehh... h-hello?"_

_The little girl giggled, she __giggled__ of all things, and smiled, much like the rest of her, brightly. _

_"Yup! You're my cute little chosen! It'll be fun working with you!"_

_"H... huh?"_

_The girl gasped slightly, her small hand to her mouth, her eyes wide and remembering._

_"I'm sorry! I haven't introduced myself!"_

_The girl floated around the blader, keeping eye contact the whole time. At last, she spinned in place, her garments, now looking a bit too big for her frame, twirled gracefully._

_"My name is Hako-chi. The light guardian spirit! And I chose you to represent me!"_

_Not knowing what to make of that statement, Rin again replied with an unintelligent response. The young girl seemed a bit impatient. She huffed, a small pout forming._

_"You don't know? I guess I can't blame you. I should explain... You know the Fusion Wheel of a bey, correct? How it determines the attributes of a bey? Like 'Storm, Flame, Dark, Lightning, Burn, Earth, Rock,' etc?" when the blader nodded, the spirit continued, "Each of those are Sub-Groups or direct descendants of the Main Bases, Fire, Water, Earth, Air, Light and Dark. Sub-groups on occasion are a mix of two. For each of the Main Bases, there is one guardian spirit. We're all pretty cool people, y'know, except for stingy old Dark..."_

_The little girl grinned slightly, and looked as if remembering something. Rin, now understanding just what the girl—and the voice, she supposed—was, wondering why this one was telling her this. Sure, it was really interesting, she never thought of it that way. She just knew of all the different types of Fusion Wheels, she didn't figure they descended off of bases._

_At the pale-eyes girl's confused glance, the girl of light continued. _

_"I'm telling you all this because every couple of decades or so, we guardian spirits hold a sort of tournament, to see whose the best. We get really bored you see, no humans can see us, unless we choose them and they accept that fate. Lucky you~! You get me! Though, I can only communicate with you through your dreams so far."_

_Rin nodded, understanding more and more, glad that Hako-chi was here, and that she was explaining. Any bad feelings towards the 'Voice' were now gone. She felt okay in this girl's presence. Uncomfortable, but okay._

_"You're an odd blader, I'll tell you that. Your 'Shadow' is a Darkness Sub-Group..."_

_Rin's eyes widened, realizing something peculiar. The little girl's hand was at her chin, her features now in a thinking pose._

_"Wa-wait a minute..."_

_"Yes, my chosen?"_

_"Why?_

_"Why what?"_

_"W-why me? I... I won't be able to d-do anything great in this t-'tournament'... and you just said... I have a D-Darkness Sub-Group..."_

_As soon as that was stuttered out, a small knock to the head was felt. Rin squeaked and looked up at the spirit with one eye opened._

_"Dummy! We guardians don't choose based on a blader's bey type! We decide based on the attributes of the __blader__!"_

_"I uhh... don't f-follow."_

_The girl of light looked from side to side, and scuffed her foot against air. Dark grey met pale violet as eye contact was established, and a look of epiphany was etched onto Hako-chi's face._

_"Like your brother! Jaiden! If he were chosen, his attributes, like his personality, would add up to him being chosen by the guardian dark spirit! His bey is 'Mirage', which is a combination of Light and Water, actually. Even so, he'd represent Dark."_

_Rin nodded, getting it. So her whole being added up to her being of Light attribute? She never thought of herself that way..._

_"Most guardians usually choose a blader with their attributes that match with their bey, since there aren't a lot of bladers with beys that contrast them. Especially as greatly as Gryhphon contrasts you. That's mainly why I chose you. You seem fun."_

_Rin nodded again and again, thinking that she understood everything the girl was saying. She didn't agree per say, and thought everything was very... out there, but she understood. One final question fell from her lips however._

_"M-must I really g-go through with this... this tournament?"_

_"Yup!"_

_Pale eyes filled with worry and the spirit just smiled again._

_"You already accepted, you left your home. That's how it all starts!"_

_The blader was about to protest, when the girl put up a hand to stop her._

_"I know, I sort of tricked you into it, but deep down, you know you wanted it. And look, you made it out. You can do this easy, okay?"_

_"B-But... what about..."_

_"No ifs, ands, or buts about it! If I say you can, you can, okay! Hey, even if you know something's impossible, you still gotta try, right?" The spirit girl tapped the pale-eyed blader's forehead twice to emphasize her point._

_The shy blader frowned, wondering if she could find a way out of this. Seeing none, and seeing the bright grin of the girl in front of here, she wished for her family, she wished for Madoka, she wished for Gryphon._

_She wished for smoldering emerald eyes that would distract her from everything._

_Her face warmed and she sighed, knowing she was on her own with this, and the only thing she could do was agree._

_"O...okay."_

_"Great! Now we can get started!"_

_"N-Now? H-Here!"_

_The girl seemed to be giggling. "No, no! I mean the challenges! Before the tournament, every representative of a guardian must go through some challenges. It's fun and it helps wring out some participants."_

_Rin gulped and nodded slowly. She agreed to this, she'd have to go through with it._

_She agreed to this, she'd have to go though with it._

_The girl of light touched both of Rin's cheeks as her hands glowed and the dark grey orbs were fading to a bright pale yellow._

_She agreed to this..._

_"Thanks so much, Ejito Rin."_

With those final words, she awoke startled in her plane seat, her hand clutching the metal of her Shadow Gryphon, and no small floating girl to be seen.

_She'd have to go through with it._

* * *

><p>She was very surprised to have been rushed off the plane when it landed, and immediately rushed to another flight before she could blink. At her confused look, a flight attendant told her it was conjoined flight from Metal City to Beijing, and Beijing to Hong Kong.<p>

The blader was very happy when she heard of her destination. Remembering one of her tidbits, Hong Kong's main languages were Cantonese and English. She felt better that she could speak freely in a language her mother would kill her if she ever forgot.

She entertained herself on the flight, trying not to be too nervous in the take-off. She played with Gryphon, ate breakfast as the sun rose, and learned the boy on the flight with her had Mario Kart 7 and was willing to play her.

After their eighth race, a tie of four all, the flight landed. She shyly waved good-bye to the boy and his mother as she began walking away from the gate she came out of. A bookstore was close by, and she figured she would need a map of the city, all the attractions and such. She hadn't heard what her challenge was yet, so she decided to have fun while in wait. Rin picked up a Cantonese phrase book and approached the counter, flipping through to see if it could show her how to ask if the cashier spoke english.

After finding the phrase, she looked up to the teen boy maning the register. He couldn't have been older than seventeen, dark brown hair lightly tousled and framed his face in front. Brown eyes stared at her curiously as the girl opened her mouth shyly to speak.

The pale-eyed girl drew back. She tryed once again to will her mouth to speak. Her hand flew to her throat, only to feel the fabric of a choker around it. A power surged around her fingertips, unlike the familiar surge of Gryphon's. At her hip, she felt Gryphon's warning.

Rin tried again to voice her thoughts, now knowing it was hopeless.

Ejito Rin couldn't speak.

* * *

><p>DONE AND DONE! I'm done for the weekend! School's tomorrow and then I have the rest of the week off! Thank you JuniorSenior testing!

Any questions I don't answer here? PM me please.

So the reason of Rin's dreams are revealed! The game of tournament between the guardian spirits of Beyblade XD Haha, this originally was a huge inside joke between my friends and I, but then we thought hey why the fuck not?

So this happened. All will be explained sooner of later. You meet Hako-chi! The spirit of Light and one of my favorite characters ever to write besides Rin! I've begun Chapter 5 already, and Hako-chi is so FUN! :DD By the way, the whole tournament sounds like a game, because it IS a game. Half of the spirits don't take it seriously.

If this is sounding a bit Mary-Sueish in Rin's case, I apologize. I needed something for her, and everyone asked me why I partnered her with a dark sounding bey like "Shadow Gryphon" if she's nice and frail and pure?

Character development: Rin´s afraid of planes somewhat. and if you noticed, there´s an odd quirk about Gryphon laid in there. Try to guess.

The chapters will explain questions in due time, and will tie somehow in the end. I wanna get things rolling, let's hope I don't throw and miss like I do A LOT!

Yes, Hong Kong´s main languages are Cantonese and English, as opposed to the rest of China, where it´s Mandarin (I think). Also, most of the time, you can not fly directly to Hong Kong, you have to land somewhere in China, THEN fly there. I could be wrong.

Yes, yes. Our heroine can not speak. No stutter, sure, but no way to communicate anything. No fun. Next chapter is her adventures in Hong Kong, without her voice! Her challenge doesn´t end there! It wouldn't be fun if it did!

Thanks for reading~!


	5. Chapter 5: A Normal Day in Hong Kong

**SO! Chapter Five everyone! We'll be following Rin spending the day in Hong Kong, exploring and meeting new people! I sort of promised a friend of mine that I'd put her FC in her, since her and Rin are kinda already friends! Also, in RP, Her OC is dating Zhou Xing of Wang Hu Zhong, and I couldn't pass up an opportunity of putting Wang Hu Zhong in here! They were my favorite team beside Team Wild Fang! Excuse me if I got them out of character. I know all of them are friendly, even Da Xiang and Chi-Yun, even with Chi-Yun is a bit too serious. I really like Mei Mei too. **

**So Rosey, I kind of use your FC the way she was before we set her up with her love~ I love her tsundere, violent side, so I used that. Nice to everyone, harsh to the dummy hotshot! **

**I hope you don't minnndd~!**

**Thanks for being an awesome buddy and an equally awesome person to talk to!**

**In these 9 pages of huge crapola, I only own Rin, her shyness, Gryphon, Hako-chi and the new spirit appearing! Utsukushi Mujakina belongs to SinfulRose2, The cashier doesn't even belong to me! Yes, that cashier. **

**Heaven Forbid! I would never be able to own Hong Kong or any part of China! O.O or Metal Fight Beyblade for that matter.**

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><p>What would you do if you no longer have the ability to speak? Would you cry? Would you panic? Or would you try to stay calm and figure out what the hell was going on?<p>

The shy blader ended up trying all three. At the same time.

After giving the phrase book to the cashier and holding up a finger to imply that she'd be back soon, she ran to the nearest bathroom and buried her head in her arms on top of a sink. She tried screaming, she tried crying, but no noise escaped her as warning tears fell down her cheeks. She quickly rubbed them away harshly, trying to calm herself, trying not to be a crybaby about this.

That was when she looked up at the mirror and saw it.

The choker she felt that strange power from.

The offending piece of material around her throat was white, and Rin never remembered even seeing it before.

Touching it once, the power surge came again, and then the girl realized that the choker _hurt._ She felt nothing when she wasn't aware of the offending object, but now, she felt how _tight_ it was around her and how constricting it was.

She felt like crying even more, to panic and scream, but when she tried, she realized one again no sound would come and that scared her even more.

She didn't even have the satisfaction of hearing herself scream to at least try to calm down.

Finally, she managed to calm herself down—how, she couldn't give you the answer—enough to think of what she knew.

One, she couldn't speak, or make any voice come for her mouth. That much was obvious. She had been unaware until now, a little over an hour after she had woken up, and since she's just naturally quiet. She received this punishment, she assumed, as soon as she woke up from her dream of accepting her fate as the chosen one of Light guardian spirit.

So, based on the evidence gathered, and the lack of notice on any challenges so far…

The pale-eyed quiet girl could conclude that her inability to speak had something to do with her challenge.

Staring at the mirror again, she washed her face and left without caring about her slightly red eyes. She quickly pulled a sketchbook from her bag, glad she decided to bring it along, and a black Prismacolor. She wrote in English, and once again returned to the small bookstore. The cashier stood up, after leaning on the counter for what she deemed as a long time. He seemed fidgety and anxious to be anywhere but there. She approached the counter once more, and showed the older teen her writings.

'Do you understand English?'

The cashier looked at her oddly, before going back to a slight grin and nodded. He then spoke in English, without the slightest hint of an accent.

"I speak it quite well too, I suppose."

The girl smiled slightly and began writing again. The teen across the counter played along with a shrug and waited for her to finish. He watched as she plucked a map of the city and the surrounding areas off of its place near the register and placed it on the counter.

'Can you tell me about some nice places to visit? I'll take this and the phrase book, please.'

He asked no questions and nodded, quickly going through the transaction and opening the map for her. He took a red pen and circled various places tourists flocked to everyday and why. He would receive wide bright eyes as she heard about each new attraction, and asked her if they were any she liked best. She nodded quickly, and with a flushed face, pointed to the main places she wanted to see.

This one was a very odd girl.

Nevertheless, she was a customer, and heaven forbid his boss found out he didn't help a customer with questions.

So he gave her directions and ignored the puffy red eyes he saw when she smiled and wrote a 'Thank you, Mr. Leon.' on that sketchbook of hers.

He suddenly remembered he had a name tag that had his name is both English and Cantonese. He nodded politely and waved as the girl began to leave, sketchbook under her arm and map in her hands.

"Have fun in Hong Kong, I suppose."

* * *

><p>Rin found that her being naturally quiet was a good thing. She didn't have to speak to any vendors selling delicious treats and people who sold various beautiful trinkets never asked her anything.<p>

Wanting to save money, of course, she forced herself not to buy anything other than food to sample. The map and phrase book were souvenir enough for her. Sure, she didn't have a use for the book yet, but she bought it anyway. It could come in handy.

Walking out of the Hong Kong Space Museum, she was very glad was asked that cashier about this city. The exhibits about astronomy in that building were simply way too amazing! Though she hadn't any desire to become an astronomer or anything like that, they had a fun interactive exhibit with a planetarium projector she just couldn't pass up.

Taking a look at her map, she decided her next location. The museum had appealed to her love of the stars, but the next place called out to her mind of a daydreamer.

Running, she was lucky to catch a bus she hoped would take her to her destination. She overheard two girls talking about the same attraction she was heading for and the shy blader sighed in relief.

Even without her ability to speak, she was going on just fine. It bothered her to no end though; she couldn't call anyone to tell them of all she's seen so far, she could only fully communicate her thoughts to her partner, who she had a mental connection with for as long as she could remember. She enjoyed his comfort, but she thought of screaming out with joy into a phone or something at her best friend or her mother. Even her little brother.

Plus, there was the irritating fact that the choker still _hurt_.

It seemed to tighten every time she opened her mouth in awe or surprise. A sigh or gasp, which she found out was the only slight sounds she could make, made the constricting material fight against her throat. She tried removing it, believe her she did. She tugged and pulled and even tried using scissors she found near a flower shop. Each time was met with the unfamiliar feeling of a power she couldn't identify and her hands being repulsed from her neck.

If Hako-chi was watching her now, she would surely be laughing.

Trying to keep her mind from that, she noticed the streets of Hong Kong. Aside with the vendors, various stores and other things, she saw a lot of children. Children running and playing in between the buildings of stores and leaning on the edge of stalls. Some had basic beys and were blading, trying to out spin the other or knock the other into stopping its rotation. All the while, she had seen sparks. Sparks, she realized, coming from fireworks. Kids with sparklers running around as they played with their beys.  
>She found it immensely cute.<p>

No one tried to stop them and was even watching with smiles so she figured it was normal, and very fun to watch. Would she be one to play with fireworks? No, as much as she loved the light show, fire was never her thing. She was still nervous when handling a lighter, of all things.

Finally, the bus stopped and the two girls she heard before grew louder and got up exclaiming that they were there. Rin quickly stood as well and followed the girls who seemed to know where they were going.

Only to be stopped short in the stone road by a crowd.

A crowd of females, all squealing at something.

The American-born blader could've sworn she saw some boys screaming along with them.

Confusion clouded her mind. Was something special happening? Was it like this every day? Mr. Leon never mentioned it, if so.

She looked upward and saw the gate of the temple she was looking forward to being in. The Sik Sik Yuen Wong Tai Sin Temple, where Mr. Leon had said different people pray to have their wishes come true. She probably wouldn't have made a wish, but it was interesting to her, since this temple was said to have many hundreds of peoples' wishes come true.

Either way now, she couldn't seem to get it, since she did _not_ want to fight through a crowd. She was about to turn away when she jumped, startled at a loud voice nearby.

"Zhou Xing! Let us through!"

To Rin's surprise, the crowd ended up splitting in two. She immediately moved to see who was in the middle. Standing proud was a young man who had to be older than herself. Tanned skin and dark brown hair, matched with bright purple eyes. He was dressed in a blue sort of Chinese training top and loose white pants, a notebook and pen in his hands and a pretty tall red-head on his arm.

In front of her, a group of three was moving towards the handsome young man. She wondered how she missed them in the crowd, they stuck out like sore thumbs. Their clothing and the way they walked hinted to the idea that they were bladers, and strong ones at that. Suddenly, she was impacted with a memory. A year of watching the TV in the lobby, sitting tense on a lobby couch, cheering for her best friend to help her friends to victory, to show off Japan's power to the world, to save that world from the evil Dr. Ziggurat that was tarnishing America's name!

The group of three seemed to be lecturing the man signing autographs as Rin finally recognized them as Team Wang Hu Zhong. The only girl, Mei Mei, she reminded herself, was yelling at the one in the middle she now identified as Zhou Xing, mostly because Madoka called her overjoyed at Masamune's first win and secondly because he was called that a second ago.

"Are you waiting to get into the temple too?"

The pale-eyes girl looked up at the sound of Japanese. She was met with a pink-haired youth. A girl about her height with long sakura-colored hair past her waist. A rose kept bangs out of her pretty blue eyes and the girl's hands were on her waist. Her clothing differed from the rest of the population, signifying that she was a foreigner, like her. While Rin nodded, the girl's frown deepened.

"Well then, c'mon! Follow me!"

If noise could escape her, Rin would've squeaked when the girl seized her wrist and pulled her to Team Wang Hu Zhong. However, she did nothing to protest and the pink-haired girl continued her march. When they reached the strangest beyblading team in all of China, the girl let go of Rin and crossed her arms.

"Hey! Bigheaded Hotshot! There are people trying to get in!"

The team all turned to stare at the two, all of the fans turning as well. The pink-haired youth stood prideful, while Rin cowered behind her, frightened by the attention, and maybe to the pain and soreness in her neck. Mei Mei spoke out an apology and pushed her teammates out of the way for the two to walk by. The girl began to pull Rin again and thank the substitute for the team. A glare was sent towards the flirtatious young man and a nod to the rest of the Chinese team. In return for the glare, a smirk appeared on the Virgo-wielding Chinese youth. He called something out in Chinese that Rin didn't understand, but the girl seemed to.

After the girl abruptly stopped, Rin heard a sound of disgust and embarrassment, then the grip on her wrist tightened and the pulling felt more jerked and forced. When the crowd was gone from their surroundings and Rin's wrist was red enough to match Gingka's hair, the girl finally let go. Rin was surprised when the girl turned suddenly and bowed at her waist in respect.

"I'm very sorry for that. I just needed someone to help me put that baka in his place! I would've been too embarrassed to do it otherwise.."

Rin nodded again when the girl stood upright, showing she understood. A brief thought wondered if this one had something going on with Zhou Xing, but she expelled the thought immediately.

"My name is Utsukushi Mujakina. Nice to meet you. You are?"

Rin smiled slightly and prepared her sketchbook. Mujakina gave her a strange look much like Mr. Leon's and read her sketchbook nonetheless.

'I'm Ejito Rin. Nice to meet you. I sort off… can't speak. I have a disorder of being selectively mute. Are you here to make a wish?'

The pink-haired girl nodded slowly, understanding. Rin was glad she thought of the excuse before having to talk to anyone. The things she accidently learns by overhearing the guests at her mother's hotel.

"Yes, I am. Want to go together?"

Rin nodded, it would be nice to make one new friend in Hong Kong. Even if she wasn't planning on wishing for anything.

So the two of them found the mats spread across the ground and various people scattered and praying on them. The two girls choose a relatively isolated group of mats and sat their knees on two next to each other. Mujakina shut her eyes and seemed to be wishing as Rin kept to observing the people in the temple. The temple itself was built beautifully, and Rin found herself loving Chinese architecture. Too soon, she saw, the members of Wang Hu Zhong had joined them. Da Xiang, the leader she remembered, along with Mei Mei and the small Chi-Yun joined her on Rin's right, Mei Mei right next to her. Zhou Xing, internally grinning, chuckled as he sat himself next to Mujakina. Rin looked over to see the girl's face beginning to match her hair and sakura eyebrows furrowed over her shut eyes. Not wanting to see the outcome of that, she turned to the other members of the Chinese team. Mei Mei was smiling apologetically at her and whispered in accented Japanese.

"We're sorry about Zhou Xing. He gets like that all the time; we can barely bring him anywhere."

Rin's shoulders shook with a giggle as she placed the sketchbook on the floor and wrote once again.

'It's fine, though my friend may not see it that way. Umm… Why is Team Wang Hu Zhong in Hong Kong?'

She was shy about prying, but how exactly do you stutter in writings? The other girl didn't seem to mind and answered.

"We're training. This was supposed to be a beyblading trip, but Zhou Xing just saw it as a vacation. He wondered about this place, and managed to convince us to try it."

The light heroine nodded again and turned to face forward again as Mei Mei did. She decided she should make a wish, as long as she's here anyway. How many times would she ever be able to make a wish at a famous Chinese temple with the strongest bladers in all of China?

Now, what could she wish for…? She closed her pale violet eyes and clasped her hands together, resting her forehead to them and prayed…

What? You want to know what she wanted? No way! Then her wish would never come true!

After she was done, she stood up to realize the other five around her were already standing and waiting for her. Mujakina was trying to ignore Zhou Xing who was trying to talk to her, and she ended up insulting him when she found she couldn't.

"Oh, you're not so strong! Hagane Gingka from Japan could stomp on that Virgo of yours!"

Rin quickly picked up her sketchbook and rushed to write something down, all the while Zhou Xing just grinned and playfully yelled, "Ouch!"

'Mujakina-san! Gingka-kun would never do something like that!'

She caught the attention of all of them as they read that sentence at their own pace. Finally she heard the deep voice of Da Xiang.

"You know Hagane Gingka?"

She blushed, hating the attention on herself and nodded slowly began scribbling on the pad again.

'He… He's friends with my best friend, Amano Madoka. I saw the battles between you guys and the Japanese team, and how you helped them.'

Wang Hu Zhong nodded, all remembering. Da Xiang then stared at Rin and asked.

"My team and I are going to Hong Kong Park for lunch, would you two care to join us? We met on very… strange terms."

Zhou Xing jumped from his spot next to the pink-haired girl and his arm wound around Da Xiang's neck in a brotherly fashion. He winked and coolly explained.

"The Chinese department of the WBBA gave us this all-expense paid trip, so we're wringing those fat wallets of theirs!"

The calm leader of the team quickly removed himself from Zhou Xing's grip and shook his head at his teammate's foolish statement.

Mujakina's hands met her hips once again and she was about to protest, about to say how she didn't want to be near than idiot of a _damn hotshot_ anymore, but the shy blader quickly interrupted with some more writing.

'Kina-san, let's go. It's a free lunch after all!'

After staring at the pale pleading of the young dark-haired blader, Mujakina relented and off they were. Wang Hu Zhong asked questions about their Japanese friends and Rin tried her best to answer with a shake or nod of her head, relying on body-language rather than the pages of her sketchpad, which she noted were getting fewer in number. If she didn't know a question, like Chi-Yun's question of how was Masamune with his new team in America, she shrugged her shoulders. A blush decorated her face as she ended up growing fond of the pink-haired youth she met by chance and the strong Chinese team.

* * *

><p>Hong Kong Park was beautiful. That's all Rin could think as she stared at it in awe. The unlikely group walked along stone roads that twisted and turned into narrow spaces full of plant life and open spaces with beautiful ponds of a wonderful blue-green. If she knew her new friends better, or if Madoka was with her, she'd be twirling right about now. Twirling and laughing and running through the park and its beauty.<p>

But Madoka wasn't here.

And a serious pain was still stinging at her throat.

And she was supposed to be having a good time without her voice and with her new friends. She and Mujakina were about to run and see all of the colorful flowers spread across the wild gardens… when she saw it.

A light whizzed past Da Xiang's face, then bounced on Chi-Yun's hat, then paused at Mei Mei's neck and slammed into Zhou Xing's arm. None of them seemed to notice this light.

Rin would've brushed it off as a bug, maybe a firefly, if it was nighttime and if the team noticed.

_But they didn't react to it._

_And the sun was just beginning its descent._

_Not a firefly._

The light whirled around the flowers, with the silenced girl's eyes following its every move. Then, it just stopped.

It realized she saw it.

She stared at it for a long time, before it sped off down a narrow twisting path not far from where they were now.

As the group smiled unknowingly, Rin stood abruptly and rushed to write a quick excuse to leave, the choker around her neck tightened again.

'I have to go now. My father's waiting for me at our hotel. It was wonderful meeting all of you. I apologize, I have to skip lunch. I hope to see you soon.'

Da Xiang had a slight friendly smile and nodded along with Chi-Yun. Mei Mei frowned, then smiled brightly and said her farewell. Zhou Xing was about to throw in a remark, when Mujakina caught him off-guard by stepping on his foot accidently—_harshly— _and smiled a good-bye. The sketchpad was deposited into her pack and she ran as fast as she could down that path. She stumbled more than once, but she kept running.

_Hako-chi._

_Her challenge._

_Her voice._

_**Run.**_

She didn't even know how long she ran until she saw that light again. She forced away fatigue as she continued running after it, tumbling by and over people and plant life alike. Finally, after moving all over the place, the light moved into what Rin identified as a tram. She could trap it now. She saw it in the window as she ran and when she was close enough, she leaped into the tram and shut the door as fast as her small body would allow.

But the light was gone.

In its place, two other people stood in the car in front of her. Two pairs of eyes, one gold, female and startled, the other male, equally surprised and a familiar dark brown.

"You again?"

Mr. Leon?

It was then that two lights now filled Rin's vision, one bright red and the other a very _very_ familiar yellow. The lights soon became the images of sprites, two pixie-sized bodies both greeting everyone in the tram with grins, the girl of light paired with a bright smile, the other with a very mischievous smirk.

"Yo!"

"Hiya!"

Oh, no…

"Hino?"

The older boy, Leon, narrowed his eyes at the grinning red sprite. His grip on the other girl's hand tightened as her eyes widened with even more surprise. "Where have _you_ been?" he asked, his temper flaring.

"Calm it, Li Xiao! I've just been catching up with my old friend Hako!"

"Yeah, Mr. Leon! We were just discussing your's and Rin's challenge. Nothing bad~!"

The older teen growled and then turned his head to the younger blader. "Her?"

The light guardian grew in size, to the small girl she was in Rin's dream. She stood proud in front of her shocked, silent chosen one.

"Yep! Hino-chi and I have decided! Your first challenge is us! Ejito Rin of Japan and Hako-chi, the light guardian spirit! We challenge you to a beybattle!"

Said girl nearly fell to the floor of the tram upon hearing that. Already? Here? Now? In this tram? From her thoughts, she could hear that Gryphon didn't object, and that he wanted some fun. He had been feeling left out. When was the last time they battled seriously?

Mr. Leon looked just as surprised she did, when he turned to the girl his age at his side. Her big gold eyes were wide in shock, but then she nodded and helped him sit down. It was then that Rin noticed.

Leon's ankles were wrapped with large red shackles. (Huh, you'd think she'd notice earlier. They were huge.)

He was being constricted, and at the flinching of his movements, she could see they hurt him a great deal.

They were going through the same thing.

Leon had his eyes closed for a while, until he slowly looked up, chocolate eyes with a bright fire behind them.

"Alright, I accept. Anything to get these stupid things off me, I suppose."

From the golden sash around his waist, the older teen boy pulled out a bey and launcher faster than Rin could see. She, frightened and anxious, slowly did the same, squeezing the cool metal of Gryphon, feeling his comforting power surge and flow through her before she finally clicked him into place.

"Ooooooh yeah! This fiery legend finally gets under way!"

"I'm counting on you, Rin! Jai ho!~"

Rin barely heard the sprites' callings, for the nervousness, the fear, the anger, the excitement, all pooled in her stomach and did flips, a warm flush spreading through her body.

The nervousness and fear of losing, of what happened if she _did_ lose.

The anger, at the sneaky little sprite and at herself for falling for _everything_.

The excitement, for the fact that this was actually happening to _her_.

Whether she believed that she could do it or not, pale violet eyes steeled and stared down the fiery shade of brown that was her opponent. This all seemed rushed, and went far too quickly for her mind to comprehend. Maybe it would never slow down for her, and she just had to pick up the pace.

But that didn't matter, because _she didn't care._ This time, it wasn't Gingka, or Kyouya, or Masamune, it was her. It didn't matter that no one was watching, it was okay that the only people who would know were the people in this car.

It was her battle.

Her challenge.

Her trip.

Her story.

The game of tournament didn't even matter anymore. She wasn't about to let herself, or her partner down. Not anymore.

The countdown began, the male's deep flaring voice along with the childish voices of the spirits, since she couldn't say it herself.

3…

2…

1…

"Let it rip!"

She pulled the chord of the launcher, pooling all her might into a focused, powerful launch.

The vanishing yellows mixed with pale pinks and light reds of the sky and highlighted the tram and it's beginning ascent.

It had begun.

* * *

><p>9 pages. 9 pages of writing. 4k+ words. and this was chopped up. My god, I feel so weird.<p>

This would've included the battle as well, had it not been for my amazing friends distracting me!

Chaos and her amazing drabbles and new chapter of The Flip Side that made me tear so much at the end. I'm drawing her another picture, man. No objections. TT_TT

Rosey, with her fun RP's XD God, she loves the vocaloids as much as I do and her OC's are fun XD She's too fun for me to talk to~

Wave, who I can talk to for hours on end XD We made this whole plan for the future zombie invasion and we're going go save Chaos and Rose, cause they're too awesome to be lost to zombies.

ANYWAY!

Rin's growing slowly~ WOOOOOTTT! You have no idea how fun it is writing it~! All of the characters were fun, though I didn't really include Chi-Yun and Da Xiang THAT much. Mujakina's and Zhou Xing's interactions were REALLY fun, and I hope Rosey doesn't mind I wrote them like that.

Leon and the girl at his side aren't mine either. They belong to a friend of mine, and were too awesome not to put in. Leon almost always puts "I suppose" after his sentences, so don't be surprised. Li Xiao is his name in Chinese, he just gets called Leon a lot.

Also, I lied. Since I had to split this chapter up, more Hako wasn't seen. But~ we are introduced to Hino-chi! I dare you to say he's the spirit of water XDD Also a tiny tidbit of Hako, and what she said. "Jai ho" means "May victory be yours" and my friend warned me, that was a song, but I knew that saying long before I heard it in any song. It hints at where Hako is originally from.

To me, this seems rushed, and I must apologize. I'm sort of beating myself up that I'm giving you guys 9 pages of crapola, but maybe I can make it up with the ACTION next chapter.

Ooooooh yeah people. This shit. This right here. IT'S GETTING REAL, MAN!

Next Time: Chapter Six! The Blazing First Battle!

Lame title but whatever XD. Bye! Thanks for reading!


	6. Chapter 6: The First Challenge Complete!

Okey-dokey! Let's get this under way! Before we completely start, I have a favor to ask of you readers. Yes, you. No, nothing big. I just need help deciding something with my drawings.

So here's my question.

I have a list of things I want to draw, but have no idea where to start, so you guys can help me with that! xD What should I draw first? The Ejito-Preston family in yukatas? A RinXNile picture? A KyouMado picture? A Rin and Jaiden battle picture? ( This one will take longer since I'm still learning how to draw beys) A picture of Nile and Kyouya being awesome without yaoi being involved? Bad Apple!Jaiden?

You decide for me. I'll show you all as soon as I finished.

This is mostly to get some projects out of the way, since I'm sort of an idiot and bit off way more than I could chew. Silly me.

Wish me luck, guys! Now without further ado, my first ever battle and chapter six of Caught Up! I changed the title of this chapter because that's who i am! :DD

I kept checking through different episodes of Metal Fight Beyblade, and Metal Storm Beyblade and Gingka's Challenge (both by WaveRipper) for advice in writing battles, but hey I tired. Nothing helps you more than experimenting I guess... God, I'm anxious DX

SCREW LOGIC I HAVE BEYBLADE!

Oh wait no I don't. I don't own it, remember? …Oh well, screw logic anyway, I have Arrow's ramen.

* * *

><p>All of the humans in the tram were surprised at the hot sparks that flew as the two spinning beys clashed once and split apart, flying in different directions. Rin wondered if she had the advantage, Leon could never hear her commands to Gryphon, right?<p>

The beys began to circle each other, both spinning at their fastest, trying to measure the other up.

"Let's see how you work, I suppose. Akuma, you know what to do!"

She could see it, a fire beginning at the face bolt and flowing all the way through the bey and to the Spin Track. The opponent's bey moved to the center of Gryphon's continuing circle, not coming close to attacking.

What… What was he doing?

That question was answered immediately when bursts of fire sprung from the small bey, creating images so brightly even Rin and the spirit of light had to look away and shut their eyes.

Leon's bey was shooting off fireworks.

_Gryphon! Are you alright?_

'_Don't take your eyes off the battle Rin! Not for a moment!'_

She heard the mental shriek of her loyal partner as the fireworks continued to block Rin's eyesight. No, the fireworks did not touch Gryphon, but in the midst of the confusion, the opponent's bey was attacking with a barrage of attacks at all sides.

"Don't make this too easy for me, kid."

Rin forced her eyes open, and was met with more blinding colors. Then, the figure of the reason she was even battling here appeared, the same floating girl of her dream, blocking her eyes from being blinded.

"Something the matter?"

The light blader stared at the spirit as she giggled. No, everything was perfectly fine! It wasn't like she was being blinded and her partner was hurting in a place she couldn't see or anything!

Since the sprite knew what she was thinking, Hako-chi only burst into more laughter.

"Haha, I know, I know. Shall we show them our power?"

Rin cocked her head to the side, still worrying about the sounds of metal being scratched violently and she swore over the fireworks she could hear her partner being burned. She knew Gryphon was fighting back, but speed and stamina were more of their best features. What was it that Leon was doing?

"Don't think us spirits will let you guys have all the fun! You can borrow my power whenever you're in battle! So, shall I show you?"

_Yes! Please! Let me help Gryphon!_

"Good idea!"

Suddenly, everything was clear, she could see Leon smirking in triumph, the girl beside him smiling happily, and more importantly, she could see the two beys attacking each other. The large image of her griffin battling with… a fire demon?

That would explain the bey's name, but Rin refused to be afraid of the scary concept of the beast inside Leon's bey. The dark red demon had its arm clinging to her partner's wings, before slamming the mythological creature to the floor of the tram. She mentally screamed as she wished she really could, when the tram began to grow darker. Leon and his friend gasped as the tram became too bright to see to too dark.

"What did you do?"

Hako held up a peace sign as she grinned happily, though only Rin could see.

"I took all of the light from this space, hoarding it into me, to be dissolved or used whenever my chosen wants me to! Your fireworks are still going," she said, her point being proved by the noises still loud in the tram as it continued uphill, "but this way, Rin can easily see what's going on!"

This was true, Leon could see what was going on through the fireworks, but the dark confused him, only allowing him to hear the noises Rin had to rely on just a few moments ago.

"Akuma! Whenever you are, finish this quickly!"

Rin, however, since being bonded with the shadow-attributed bey for years had grown accustomed to the dark, and found that she and Gryphon worked best in the shadows. She could see everything quickly, Leon's annoyed face, the beys battling back and forth, trying to one up each other.

And she saw Gryphon, with new vigor as he grew more comfortable with his advantage in the dark.

"Will you need me again, Rin?"

The answer was sudden. _No, me and Gryphon can take of it from here. Thanks, Hako-chi._

The sprite nodded, "Later then."

Rin took one step forward, ordering her bey to attack with everything the flying beast had. She could see the demon backing down, unsure of where its fire was going and where to shoot it.

Here's where the pair chosen by light took advantage of their speed, attacking from random directions, with no pattern to help the pair who could not see. Rin saw the other bey beginning to wobble, and felt a decrease in Gryphon's energy as well. They weren't used to battling, so this had already taken a lot out of them.

"Promethean Spiral Fire! Burn them all, Akuma!"

Rin jumped in shock, as did her bey when the opponent _jumped_ away from their attack and flames were thrown in every direction, the temperature in this enclosed space soaring as the girl had to dodge a flame at her left side. She could feel sweat beginning to form at her forehead and at the back of her neck, under her dark hair, and could hear the scream for the other older female in the room and the distinct shriek of her partner's pain. The bey had been hit multiple times, and from the heat, Rin wouldn't be surprised if she saw some _melting_ in the black-hued metal of her griffin.

As she saw the wobbling and slowing down of her bonded partner, she began to panic. Was it her loss? Would she ever be able to speak again? How hurt was Gryphon? Would this battle put her friend out of commission?

Please no…

She paused for a moment, staring as the opponent dropped down again and both began attacking each other anew, staying strong.

_Stop._

_Calm it down._

_In. Out. __**Breathe, Rin.**_

_You're not about to lose this._

She owed it to Gryphon, no worrying was allowed at this point. Whatever happened after this point was something she'd have to bare, and with her _partner_. She wasn't alone. The spirit of the griffin had promised her that much.

New confidence she didn't dare question surged through her, and through her to her partner.

"You're getting serious this year, Hako."

"I have to, and you surely know why Hino."

The spirits talked as they watched the battle, seeing the small 15-year old grow in strength. Hino's eternal smile was gone as he watched, already have lent his power to his chosen, now waiting to see if he was needed again. Unbeknownst to the two chosen bladers, no real setback was given to the loser, as far as he could see.

Not saying he liked losing though, so he watched with a strict eye as the heroine of light rose above the hero of fire.

Rin and Gryphon drew back away from their opponents charging up power and hiding away in the shadows. Li Xiao gritted his teeth as he felt his bey's confusion, not knowing what to do or what to say.

"Where are you, kid?" he yelled, his eyes open, yet not able to adjust to the complete darkness. No light came from outside and the setting sun. He hated this, he hated being blind.

Then, he felt it, a strange aura surround the area, energy waves that were unfamiliar coming around him, around everything. Pivoting around the chair he sat in, around the girl at his side, and everything else. He was close to the end, but this felt like an all-out attack, so he could conclude they were as well.

"I don't want to, but the only choice is to try and overpower you, I suppose. Hino!"

The fire sprite was at his side in an instant, becoming a glowing orb and landed gently in the palm of his hand. The spirit's chuckle was heard as he bellowed out, "Alright!"

"Promethean Spiral Fi—!"

The older teen was cut off by his bey being attacked by another. It came out of nowhere, and loudly in his mind did he hear the yell of a female.

_Now Gryphon! Shadow Revolver Rift!_

The flaming move was cut off, but hot bursts of fire still burned through, hurting the black bey in its attack. The griffin barreled through, however, driving into the other bey through the rift in the dark, in this space. He pushed through until the bey was slammed into the wall of the tram, borrowing dark energy from his environment as it helped him. He could feel his power drop, and as the friction grew, he didn't allow himself rest as the bey holding the fire demon grew slower and slower. The friction became too much…

One bey had to give in, and neither wanted to admit it could be them. It was only until Akuma flew upwards and back, Gryphon happy to realize that its spin had halted, that the shadow bey returned to its preferred place, in front of its blader. He could hear the click of metal as the exhausted bey landed into the older male's hand. The tram grew lighter, bright with the last fleeting light of sunset.

He, and his blader Ejito Rin, had won.

Leon stared, dark brown eyebrows furrowed over shut eyes as he felt the weak, exhausted metal of his partner. His opponent was odd, and caught him completely off-guard. The girl beside him squeezed his hand and he sent a slight smile her way. Sure, he was irritated he had lost, especially like that, and with the pain of those stupid large shackles that made him feel like his legs would burn up right to the bone, but her attempt at comfort helped a lot.

The bey he lost to, Shadow Gryphon, was wobbling violently as he realized he was close, it just wasn't enough. That black-hued bey, he could feel it from here, used its last ounce of energy to jump into the girl's waiting hands. Pale eyes were widened with shock, and joy. Pure joy, like a child being reunited with its mother after being separated.

"I… I did it!"

Happiness that carried over to the girl next to him, Yue, and upon seeing both of the bright smiles, his anger seemed to fade away.

Well, not completely.

He grabbed the body of the floating red boy, who hadn't thought to return to his normal size and fit perfectly into Leon's hand.

"H-Hey! Li Xiao! Dammit, let go of me!"

"I battled for you, idiot! Get these damn things off!"

"I…! I can't!"

"What do you mean, you can't?"

With Rin, Hako-chi was cheering loudly, her eyes shut in happiness as Rin was laughing. The shy blader paused.

Laughing.

**She could laugh.**

"H… Huh?"

Rin's hand flew to her neck. She searched for the offending material, trying to feel for the stinging pain that once surged through her.

No pain was given, and all she could feel was a small chain. She pulled it up and tilted her head to see. A pure white chain shined around her neck, and joined at the end, was the image of a star, with a small crystal in the middle. The crystal seemed to be alive, shining with a bright light she had been growing accustomed to.

Who cared about her new accessory, she could speak! She brought her faithful bey closer, the still heated and scratched metal rough against her cheek. "G-Gryphon…"

A small roar echoed in her head and she felt instant comfort. Her partner was tired, burned and scarred, but he was happy. They _won!_

"Congratulations, Rin! Your first challenge is completed! Now, I can fully join you in the outside world through that pendant! No more mysterious dreams, hehe!"

"R-really?"

The small sprite of light nodded happily and Leon's deep irritated voice was heard throughout the tram.

"Now, it's time you two give us an explanation of what the hell is going on."

Rin would've jumped at the scariness of Leon's voice, but instead nodded, agreeing and wanting all of the blanks in her head filled.

The two spirits gave each other a foolish glance and nodded, then turned to their chosens and began, Hino-chi speaking first.

"Okay, so we've already told you two that before our tournament, each chosen must go through challenges, right?"

When all three humans nodded, the fire sprite continued, an annoyed look on his face, hating the boring explaining.

"Well, really you guys have only three. The first one is a battle with another chosen, with, as you guys can guess, a handicap. Each spirit chooses a handicap for their chosen and they must find another chosen and battle. The challenges before the tournament have a point system, which is your lifeline in the last challenge. The first two are so you guys can get the most amounts of points that you can."

Hako then spared Hino and started explaining herself.

"At the end of the last challenge, only four of the six chosens will enter the tournament. Since the winner of this one is Rin, she gets 1000 points! Li Xiao, Even though it's your loss, you still get 500 points for participating! Rin, for you I chose that you would lose your voice, only because you're naturally shy and quiet. Also, I never approved of bladers yelling of all things to add power to their beys. Yet throughout this challenge you displayed wanting to scream, and to protest, and be heard. Though the sketchpad was a good idea…"

Hako-chi knocked on Rin's head once again, only to have the heroine of light squeak.

"If you don't speak up, you'll never be heard, got it?"

"Y… Y-yes?"

"I can't hear you!"

"Y… Yes!"

Leon and Hino couldn't help but chuckle at them and the spark of determination between the two. That was then they too, got knocked on the head.

"Don't laugh at her! That girl's such a little sweetheart! Don't be mean, Li Xiao!"

"Yeah, yeah, Yue. Sorry."

Rin then turned to the opposite three. With a questioning glance, she stared at the other girl in the tram.

"M-Mr. Leon… C-Can she see them?"

As Hako-chi mumbled something about 'old habits dying hard' and 'stupid stutter' the teen boy nodded and waved a hand at the golden-eyed girl next to him.

"She's my plus one, I suppose."

"P-plus one?"

"Didn't Hako tell you? Each chosen can choose one other person to cheer them on in these events and stuff. Funny thing is, they have to be the opposite gender."

Rin didn't know at the moment if she should strangle the little grinning sprite or faint with exhaustion, so she stuck with giving the meanest glance she could at the girl of light.

This only caused Hako-chi and Yue to giggle at how 'cute' she looked.

A warm flush was brought among Rin's face, when Yue's hand was stuck out in front of the pale-eyed girl.

"It's really nice to meet a sweetheart like you, Rin. I'm Yue, Li Xiao's girl-"

"Friend. She's a friend."

Yue giggled as Leon choose to glare at her, the two girls shaking hands. The older girl winked slyly at the younger and everyone realized that the tram had stopped. Their trip uphill was over. And Rin noticed the shackles around Leon's ankles.

"H-How come they d-didn't disappear?"

"Oh yeah. The loser's shackles don't disappear after their first challenge unless the winner lets them go. That's why I couldn't remove them." Hino's eternal grin returned as he shrugged. The winner in question now squeezed the metal of her tired partner and rushed at the fire sprite.

"I let him go! P-please release him!"

Her response was a full-out laugh and a giggle from the two friendly and manipulative spirits.

"Wow! You were right Hako!"

"I told you! My chosen's too cute not to be nice~!"

With more laughter, the red shackles began to fade from the teen boy's legs. They left behind no redness or any sign of the previous pain they caused, just a red-chained anklet with the charm of a firework around his right ankle. The immediate reaction was Leon standing quickly, and walking around the tram. The walk quickly became a run as the boy started laughing, happy to be free.

He finally skidded to a stop in front of the girl he lost to, and grinned widely, a complete change from the male she had met earlier today.

"Thanks, kid. I feel much better. Since you beat me this time, I expect seeing you all the way at the end, got it!"

The younger girl nodded and then looked out to where they were. A pathway was just outside and she could see a lot of plant life.

"Mr. Leon? Miss Yue? W-Where are w-we?"

"Oh, it seems we're at the top of The Peak. It's the highest point in Hong Kong. Ah, the sun's set, so we can see the city lights from here. It's a great sight for tourists, I suppose, come see kid."

So she followed the couple out to the platform of The Peak, the two spirits bidding them good-bye and disappearing into their charms. The sight Rin was met with blew away all of the other sights she'd seen and left them in its dust. The colorful lights given off by the various building reflected into beautiful images in the water of the harbor, accompanied by the boats that floated calmly and slowly, giving off lights of their own. The lights contrasted with the dark of the night sky, and made the shades of navy and grey stand out. Even with all of the bright lights, Rin could see her wonderful stars clearly, living in harmony with the lights below them. If she could've Rin wished that she could've slowed time and stayed in this amazing moment of wonder. The only thing that would've made everything better…

Rin didn't dare blink, or shut her eyes, for she couldn't tear her eyes off of the sight, and she knew if she did she would see the brunette mechanic that supported her even in her shyness, her mother's smiling face, proud no matter what she did, navy blue eyes hidden by dirty blonde hair on a younger boy yelling out profanities.

The image of the wonderful desert boy who always seemed at the back of her mind.

She sighed and continued watching the sight that did not lose its splendor, now fully aware of Yue and Leon holding hands and being happy next to her. It was something out of a manga.

She spun Gryphon and watched his slow, tired spin, wondering if she was going to get her manga moment.

"We did well today, Rin."

She placed a smile for her partner and watched as he flew and mixed with the colors of the night. She was being silly. With her new adventure still beginning, 'manga moments' weren't needed.

"Yeah… I guess we did."

Her partner's wings flapped gracefully and a small breeze blew by them, sending Rin into her own world. What would she do now? She could leave this city in the morning, but did she want to? This city still had much she wanted to explore, but she had this overwhelming urge to go visit someplace else. She had her whole life ahead of her, if she wanted to come back, she always could. She had friends here she would never leave behind, even if she only knew them for a day.

"Is that her…? Rin-chan!"

Speaking of friends…

Turning her head, on the stone path she grew to know Hong Kong for, she saw pink-hair stand out through the dark greens surrounding them. Soon, she saw the figures of Wang Hu Zhong as well. They were here too?

Blue eyes and curly pink hair ran up to her as Mujakina greeted her friend again.

"Funny meeting you here again! Good too, that dummy hotshot won't leave me alone!"

The silly tone of Zhou Xing's voice was heard. "I only want your number, Kina-chan!~"

"And I told you to go google it, you ass!"

Rin turned completely to face her friends and laughed at Mujakina's retort. Yup, she definitely had a reason to visit this city again.

"I'm happy I could see you guys again."

The five people all seemed startled at Rin's voice, and the girl herself was happy she could let go of her stutter for a little bit.

"You… You spoke!"

"Y… Yeah, I tend to do that…"

Trying her best not to stutter, she ended up sharing the beautiful sight of Hong Kong with those five friends, and ended up introducing Li Xiao and Yue. The two older teens watched over them as they conversed, talking and sharing tidbits as new friends tended to do. She marveled at Chi-Yun and Da Xiang's stories of childhood, weakly cheered with Mei Mei about her upcoming challenge to the tanned blader of the team. The Virgo-wielding hotshot annoyed the tsundere, as Rin labeled Mujakina, and more than once did Rin catch blue eyes softly staring at the idol as he talked to Da Xiang and Chi-Yun. The pink-haired youth then seemed a bit sad when Rin stated she would be leaving tomorrow morning.

"Okay, but maybe we'll find each other in Japan again, or somewhere else in the world. Right, Rin?"

She nodded excited and promised she would visit Wang Hu Zhong in the Bey-Lin temple in the future. Mei Mei held Shadow Gryphon and laughed as she said it'd be nice to train with another girl. Finally, the smallest out of all of them, Chi-Yun spoke out.

"If today's your only day in this city, then there is one final place we must go."

"Chi-Yun, you don't mean…"

"Alright! More money out of the WBBA's pocket!"

Rin looked around at all of the faces she would've never known if she hadn't left home and for a moment, thought to thank the little light spirit for manipulating her.

For a moment.

"You kids are going to Jumbo Kingdom? Oh, Leon let's go!"

"Sure, free dinner, I suppose."

"J-Jumbo Kingdom?"

As the group filed into a tram and began their trip downward, they all had stories they've heard about the amazing restaurant that floated in the harbor. It was said to have 'six-star food' and gorgeous dining rooms. Mostly to Zhou Xing's amusement, it sounded heavily expensive.

As the lights of the city grew closer and the chatter of the very unlikely group continued in Rin's ears, she shook with a giggle and happiness etched on her face. Another mean remark towards the tanned Chinese blader from the sakura girl. Rin briefly thought that she definitely had something with Zhou Xing, but dismissed that thought easily. She talked with Yue and Chi-Yun about the battle with Leon while Da Xiang was listening—or at least she thought he was—at Mei Mei's daydreaming of all the delicious food.

She really wouldn't have traded this decision for anything.

* * *

><p>How the damn hell did he get caught up in this.<p>

The bustling city of Seoul, South Korea. It was interesting, no doubt about that. Nothing compared to his home city, he was sure, but this trip was mandatory, it was something _he_ had to do and it took one full day to convince Kasumi of this.

The dummy's friend had yelled at him, and Kasumi began tearing up again for no reason.

They weren't anything to him, they had no reason to.

He was out here looking for the only family he had left.

But that thing was…

He took the wrong flight.

See, the American wasn't good with directions. He lost his way in Central Park time and time again enough to prove that.

So he sort of expected to be lost in this city, especially when he wasn't even supposed to leave the airport!

But…

"Please! You must help me mister! You're the only one who can help!"

The noise of chains moving and the sight of the large… shackles over the girl walking backwards in front of him was seriously irritating. Just because they bumped heads in the airport and he was suddenly able to see… whatever those things over her eyes were, didn't mean he had to help her!

Seriously, how the hell did he get caught up in this?

* * *

><p>Okay, LeonLi Xiao's battle is over and finished! (Please allow me to collapse of exhaustion now.) Researching Hong Kong and tourist attractions was actually kind of fun! :D

I needed epic music to help me with the battle, but all I found was some amazing anime ending that was epic, yes, just not epic enough! Request me an epic song?

I now feel confident to tell you guys who this wonderful teen of fire and his (girl)friend belongs too. My bestest buddy in the world (*cough IN NY cough*), John! He dived into the bandwagon of Beyblade FC's about 2 days before I wrote the characters into the story.

Thank you Johnny! We were actually arguing over who would win this battle (He was rooting for Rin and I was going for Leon) We tried rock, paper, scissors; we tried tic-tac-toe; we even played Connect 4! That was a very fun day in Bio… We even got half of the class to vote for who would win after me and him had a debate on why either would win.

Rin was our lucky winner!

I have stated before that Rin losing would be no trouble to me, it would make her more real. We all lose sometimes right? It's my job to build up story so I can make sure if Rin's strong enough to overcome the loss.

John owns everything about Leon. Yue, Akuma (Full name: Temporal Akuma) the way Li Xiao always says "I suppose". He even came up with the special moves! (Yea, Rin's too. He's such a helper.) He looked over my shoulder through this whole chapter and acted as a beta. He lied and told me the battle was good D:

Anyway! Me and Johnny thought this over, and since he didn't want to make another FC, we decided to have the reviewers help us! Our subject? The girl following Jaiden! We gave you guys a start, like she is a chosen one with shackles over her eyes. But, what's her element?(Can't use these: Dark, Light and Fire) What's her name? What does she look like? (don't give eye color we have an idea for that) Why is she in that country? (Is she Korean or is she visiting?)

We'll be choosing different tidbits from each person who wants to try! Nothing will be shunned! So have fun!

I hope I did okay in my first ever battle! I hope you guys will still stick with me! Thanks so much for reading and leave a review if you want (Satisfy my review urges~)!

Arrow! Try and get your ramen back! :DD *collapses due to lack of sleep*


	7. Chapter 7: Being Blind

Hahahaha... I'm mad.

Like very mad.

Because I like this game.

Not just ANY GAME.

The Beyblade: Metal Masters videogame. Yeah, that one. Okay, okay feel free to laugh your head off now. It's odd cause I would never go for this kind of game. The first one was crap, I can tell you that. My cousin got it because that was when we were in the prime time of loving MFB, and the game sucked. Most of my cousins have now left behind the Beyblade world, and I was bored and my friend let me borrow the game(John hadn't started it yet, he only bought it to give Vulcan Horuseus to me for Christmas. A really really late present a week and a half after the holiday). So I played, finding the game suppper easy you just had to spam a button. I beat Kyouya in 3 seconds :) I went through unlocking people and when I unlocked Kyouya and Nile I was like "BYE BYEE Masamune and Gingka!" I picked Nile as leader and played through that way and Tsubasa my third member never had to fight since I kept pwning with the awesome broship that is Kyouya and Nile.

Maybe it was the fact I'm a huuuuuuuuuge fan of those two (PS The way they said good-bye to Team Wild Fang in the show was BLASPHEMOUS! D: Good thing that ain't the last we see of NILE and DEMURE *shot* :D) and that I squealed throughout the entire time playing, either way it's fun for me, but I wouldn't recommend it. It's far too easy.

Also, when traveling, please keep in the back of your head this is Beyblade, so traveling on foot is sorta the same way they do it in Pokemon! Planes are all dandy and good, but I love the idea of FC's out in the wild XDDD I'm odd like that.

**WARNING:** This chapter might just suck. And Mei Mei has a love for Eastern Asian hip-hop... because I promised my friend I would put it in :D

So I'm borrowing that game, I own a Vulcan Horuseus, a Rock Leone and a Ray Unicorno(Striker). I do not, I repeat DO NOT own Metal Fight Beyblade. Li Xiao and Song Yue (Song is Yue's last name) both belong to Johnny. SinfulRose2 owns Mujakina. Thanks for letting me use them!

So yeah. ;D

* * *

><p>"E-ehh.. M-My I-Pod..."<p>

The sub-member of Wang Hu Zhong giggled and smiled proudly as the American-born blader stared at the small device.

"I saw a serious lack of music, my friend, so I decided to take matters into my own hands. Lucky I had my I-Pod on hand!~"

Rin scrolled through the song names, some she didn't even know how to pronounce. How Mei Mei managed to put 135 songs in the small device in one night, Rin had no clue.

"I got you covered. It's your dose of Eastern Asian music! You got Big Bang, SHINee, The newer band B.A.P..."

The shy blader stopped the girl from beginning to ramble. She thanked the two girls in front of her for the small Chinese "makeover" they treated her too. Rin's bangs were swept to the side and her hair, sort of on the shorter side, was pulled into a side ponytail with, when Mujakina _insisted_, a rose. The girls had given her a darker red duangua with a gold trim to travel out of the city with. It was tied at her waist and the sleeves were a little too long for her arms, but Yue told her it only added to her cuteness.

Rin doubted her on that, but chose not to speak and let the girls have their fun. She had to admit, the smiles she saw of their bright faces made her break out into grins as well. She even voiced her opinion of stuff they themselves tried. The little otaku almost squealed when she realized they all looked like something out of an anime!

What a night that had been.

She waved as Mei Mei left first, her team waiting, their day of fun over in Hong Kong, now ready to train as Da Xiang ordered. The heroine of light had already said good-bye to the male members of Wang Hu Zhong, shaking their hands and promising she'd be ready for a battle the next time she saw them, with a shy smile to the ground. Also, she would have to pay the sub-member back for all the music she gave her.

Mujakina waved good-bye next, promising that they'd see more of each other and next time, the idiot hotshot wouldn't spoil the fun. The pale-eyed girl giggled and wished the sakura youth well and the girl left too.

A pang was felt in her heart as her friends left. Sure, she knew them for a day, and she didn't know them as she did Madoka and Kenshin, but they were refreshing to be with and had this energy about them that refused to be ignored. Rin found herself loving them as much as she admired how strong they were. She slipped the backpack strip on her shoulder higher as she turned to the last two.

Leon and Yue had packs of their own, ready to leave in the opposite direction she was. The three humans had questioned the spirits if they were able to travel together, because she began to see them as wonderful older siblings. The spirits then had refused, saying Rin's second challenge would lead her in the total opposite direction as Leon. Hako-chi looked disappointed, saying that she wished she could trade routes with Hino, since the fire spirit's route would cross paths with an old friend(who would not be Leon's next opponent). The fire sprite laughed at this and promised to say hello for her, cheering up the female spirit of light. Then, both spirits looked to Leon in expectation. The older teen then produced an object out of his pocket and then smiled slightly as he held it out for the younger blader who bested him.

Hako explained this last night. Among the spirits, she was best friends with the sprite of Air and Fire, and they became a trio of troublemakers. They were really close, and when they were against each other every tournament, they were always happy to see each other and their chosens held a tradition of giving the winner of the challenge a present. Rin peered into his hand and gingerly took the object.

She stared it in awe as she turned the present over and over, admiring the color of ebony and the gold designs painted on it. She gently pulled at the cord of the present and smiled brightly at the older male.

It was a brand new string-cord launcher.

"You didn't think you would get far with that ol' pull cord, did you? My grandfather makes these for a living, and I thought to grab one for you, I suppose."

"Be sure to succeed right to the end, okay Rin? We'll be expecting you in those finals~!"

The young couple, Yue hugging her tightly and reminding her to visit sometime after this was over, and Leon ruffling her hair, left with hands entangled, and Rin waved good-bye until she couldn't see them anymore. She could promise them that much. She owed it to them to meet their challenge and everything in between, right?

Not just to them either...

The smile disappeared into a tight line as she squeezed the scarred metal of her partner.

"How are you, Gryphon?"

She heard the sore, yet impatient shriek of her mythological beast and nodded solemnly as she quickly replaced her old launcher and clicked her gift into place next to her blader grip. She then clicked the bey into place and started the countdown in her mind, ready to do some real traveling, staring at the road ahead, fear being slowly but surely pushed back.

"Let it rip!"

As the cry of a griffin sounded overhead and the sound of her bey spinning strong and proud, she took off as fast as she could, putting on her headphones and not turning back.

She decided she loved Hong Kong.

* * *

><p>He decided he hated Seoul.<p>

So much.

So much that it burned.

No, the people were okay. Koreans were amazing, man. At least, that's what one of his old buddies used to tell him.

But no, in South Korea, he—_of course—_wouldn't meet a cool Korean.

He'd meet _this!_

"_Hijo de puta! Te mueres hoy mismo!_"

Why out of everyone who lived and visited South Korea...

Did HE have to be the one stuck with the easily-angered Spaniard with huge fuckin' shackles over her eyes!

He was sliding through the crowd with ease, running and trying to get away from her. Dammit, where was the airport when you needed it?

With as much ease as the New Yorker slipped through the large city crowd, the girl following seemed do the opposite. She was halted, she tripped and tumbled through the crowd, yet she could always sense where the boy was, and followed him effectively none the less.

Finally, the young American blader slid into an almost hidden alley, trying his best to remember where to retrace his steps to the airport. Was the park he had seen on the way or the total opposite direction? He was about to launch his bey, who could easily help him with this, when the ground began shaking violently. He lost his footing and landed harshly on his back, groaning at the sharp pain now coming in at his side.

"Augh! W-what the hell?"

"_Cabrón_, don't you ever think of running!"

Oh wonderful...

"Look, girl, whoever you are—"

"¡_Mi nombre no es '_girl_'! ¡Soy Aida Emmalina Ramirez! ¡Recordarla!"_

Curse himself for not knowing Spanish. He was pretty sure that he was being threatened or something. Why was _she _mad? If anything, HE should be mad! Here he was in a foreign country, looking for a family member, and trying to get someone to leave him alone!

"Okay then, Aida," he thought that was her name,"I would prefer if you would leave me the fuck alone. Hence, me running away."

"I asked you a simple favor, and you couldn't help me?"

He rubbed his pinkie in his ear, his face indifferent, but in truth, how she switched from Spanish to English and back was kind of scary.

"Why should I help you? You're the one who got me lost in this city."

Jaiden walked forward and brushed past her, marveling at the fact at how short she was. She was just under his eyes, and her hair was odd, her skin the color of milk coffee, which was a drink he could really go for right now. Brown hair of the lighter side, yet still darker than the shade of his own, stood on her head proudly in a ponytail that seemed to defy gravity, the end on the top of her head rather than falling down her back. La Rojigualda, which he recognized as the Spanish flag, was stamped on the lower thigh of her pants, which were curled up to just below her knee.

Hey, he was observant, at least she didn't know he was staring, right?

"_Hijo de puta,_ stop staring at me American."

"I wasn't staring, idiot. And the name's Jaiden. Jaiden Preston."

In the middle of observing and passing her, he unconsciously stopped just before the entrance of the alley. It was quiet for a while, until he choose to sneer and speak again.

"I have no time to help anyone, especially you. I have someone I need to find, so if I were you, I'd stay as far away as possible from me."

He took a step forward. Then another. Finally a third before the Spaniard yelled out.

"This person you're looking for! I... I know where they are!"

His fourth step halted, his body swiftly turned as dirty blonde eyebrows furrowed. He glared at large brownish-gray shackles, his tone deadly.

"Where...?"

* * *

><p>It was a full week of walking, training, and living among the coasts and forests of the Asian country until Rin came close to Kanming, China. She walked miles each day, resting her sore legs by night, only for a little, until she started training. Even with the scarred metal of her bey, they could get some pretty decent training in. She was well-packed enough not be without food, and she was enjoying it. The nature around her was just wonderful and she could stargaze until dawn began peeking its fiendish head in. She began to wonder what sleep was exactly, and she tried to, along with the help of Gryphon, gradually learn how to clean her bey.<p>

Now accidentally jabbing an uncomfortable place of the Spin Track, and hearing the yell of her partner, she apologized while the spirit of Light looked on. The city was only a mile more, and she informed her chosen as the dark came rolling in that there was where they would rest one night more before boarding a plane to their next opponent.

'_Ow! Rin! Watch where you're poking that thing!'_

"Sorry! H-how does Madoka do t-this sort of thing...?"

Hako-chi munched on some pocky Rin had, staring with dark grey eyes at the person who would save her...

"H-Hey, Hako-chi?"

She noticed the young girl was getting better at being heard, her voice clear with less stuttering then when they first met. She was getting somewhere.

"Hmm?"

"Where exactly is my... next opponent?"

Hako figured that question would be asked, but wished it could've waited until she was on the plane.

"We're heading to Nepal. Our plane will land in Kathmandu."

Rin seems satisfied and turned back to trying, and still sort of failing at cleaning. Mechanics were already highly respected in her mind, but now that respect skyrocketed as she fiddled with a portable brush Madoka had lent her.

Hako-chi went over everything she had revealed to her shy chosen over the course of the week. She explained the shackles more in depth. The idea of the handicaps was brought in at the second tournament they ever had, and the winner of the previous tournament did not get shackled. She explained that her second challenge would be sort of a capture the flag sort of game, and it would involve battling.

She also explained that Rin had nothing to worry about, and that no penalty will be done to her if she lost, even in the third challenge. She also mentioned that the only serious part was that if an element guardian's chosen did not win once in seven consecutive tournaments, that that element would cease to exist. Rin had worried, and refused to walk another step until Hako jumped from her resting spot in the pendant and explained that she had nothing to worry about, and that fact was only kept because each winner had kept it that way, considering it some stupid rule easily overlooked and since no one was in danger of poofing out of existence, it shouldn't matter.

The sprite of light was then asked when was the last time Hako was won with her chosen, but the bright girl was already too busy pushing her heroine to answer. She didn't explain anything else afterwards. Not who her opponent was, and certainly not if her challenge really _was_ in Kathmandu.

New information passed inside the spirit's mind, and she grumbled under her breath. Her and the spirit of her next opponent were keeping touch as they grew closer and closer to seeing each other face-to-face. This new info was held from her until it was too late to change. This is why she wished to go Hino and Leon's way. The fire spirit would _love_ this.

She normally would too, had this been any other tournament. More confusion and fun for her chosen, right?

Not this year.

_Of course not this year. Not with these circumstances._

As she told Hino, this year she'd have to get serious.

And if being serious meant keeping her mouth shut around Rin and playing the girl into her tiny hands, even under suspicion of the girl's partner...

The girl of light saw her heroine packing up and calling for her so they could continue on. She put on her normal bright grin and flew over to dive happily into her place in the shy blader's pendant.

_Then so be it._

* * *

><p>Aida was a funny girl, he had to admit.<p>

She was far too stubborn to accept any help from him, even though they met because she wanted his help.

As they left South Korea, her refusal to tell him where they would meet the dummy made him angry, and he outright ignored her as they traveled to Beijing.

And she had been perfectly okay with it.

Even when he was bored, and wanted _something_ to do, she made no reaction to his trying to speak. Plane rides were spent in silence, and they hardly spoke when they walked in some short miles, not talking unless absolutely necessary. He even decided to share small things about himself, and told her about the family he was searching for. She didn't seem to listen.

In short, she was a funny girl.

In a bad way.

And it was driving him insane.

His only confident was his bey partner, Mirage Mecha, who he had long ago named Deceit. The long rants about the _stupid_ Spaniard was becoming so frequent, the humanoid spirit who Jaiden had tinkered with as a younger child began growing bored himself, often replying with hunched shoulders, "Tell me something new, young master."

He wished to find the idiot, force them home and sit them down to never put this kind of bullshit on his shoulders again.

_Oh,_ how he wished.

But he was met with the image of the young girl already up the next morning, shackles still evident, and a light brown and green light near her shoulder.

Fuck his life.

If this was going to go on, he needed human communication, so as they ate breakfast in Beijing, he tried.

"Can you tell me where we're going now Ramirez?"

Silence.

"So where in Spain are you from? 'La Rojigualda' is the Spanish Flag, right?"

More silence.

"So you're a blader, right? Want to try a _friendly_ match...?"

By this point, his face was red with anger, not that she could see. She had no right to shut him out like this! Standing, he cursed at her in Japanese, knowing she wouldn't understand, and strode out of the food court in the Beijing airport and towards the gate he knew they would end up in. Fuck her, fuck her being blind.

_Fuck it all!_

Deceit tried to calm him down via their mind link, but everything turned red as he sat and clenched the armrest of the chair. If she wanted it this way, _fine._ He'd probably never see her again after he took the dummy home anyway.

That sentence felt odd. Like, really really odd. Stupid Aida.

He waited impatiently for a half four until she joined him again, the coffee-colored skin and the hair and the dumb flag stamped on her pants that intrigued him and all. It was another minute before he stopped staring at her, with hatred in his eyes _he was sure_, and the plane they would take began boarding. It was a smaller plane than usual, and he didn't mind. He just hated he'd have to sit next to the blind one for another couple hours.

They sat in the front row, away from the rest of the passengers, which were few in number. It was only after the plane was already high in the sky, that the stupid Spaniard surprised him.

She spoke.

Well, technically she sighed first, and turned in his direction.

"I'm sorry."

He nearly jumped in his seat, the seat belt restraining his movement. By the grimace on her face, he assumed it was annoying for her to apologize.

"What?"

"I haven't told you everything."

"Anything." He corrected her. She nodded slightly and the light-brown haired girl began again.

"We meet your family in Nepal. I need to battle them. I couldn't talk to you because if I did, you probably would've left me a couple days ago."

Jaiden's eyes widened. _THAT'S_ why he was ignored? Had he been playing into her trap this whole time? Following her, not just for family but out of curiosity of her reason to ignore him?

Who really was the blind one here?

"You would've taken off for your family and that would've messed everything up. I hate to say this, but I'm sorry I played you."

All his anger seemed to melt away.

"Can... Can you tell me everything now?"

"Not everything, just that you sister's gonna remove these things over my eyes somehow. It's good she has a nice caring brother."

_Wait, what?_

"Huh? I don't give a shit about the idiot, I just need her back in Japan. No bro-sis relationship needed."

Then, for the first in this long long week, he heard something he never thought he would.

Aida _laughed_.

"I question who's the blind one here, _amigo_."

Sure, he asked himself that a few minutes over, but that didn't mean he couldn't be offended.

"Shut up, Spanish idiot. There's no way I care for the dummy."

A smile appeared under those shackles, and the girl spoke again. "It's funny how you're just running."

"Eh? Running?"

"You should stop running away from these you don't want to see. Trust me, I know. Being blind sucks. Seeing can suck too, but you're always better off. _Te encanta tu hermana, mi amigo._ Face it."

Jaiden thought what she said over, and found himself clueless. Was he blind? What was it he wasn't seeing?

They continued to speak to each other throughout the plane ride, and Jaiden found her the total opposite of what he first thought her to be. She was rude, sure, and really loud when she really spoke. He ending up laughing at how she always spoke in both Spanish and English, and had no control over switching between the two. The pronunciation of some of her words were hilarious, and he couldn' help but tease her for the faint blush peeking out from her shackles on her coffee skin.

He found her a funny girl.

In a good way.

As he realized this, his face began heating up. He thanked God she couldn't see it, but he nearly panicked when her face turned his way.

"Is there heating on your side, Jaiden?"

"W-what?"

"It feels warmer on your side, is there heating on this plane?"

The red on his face grew darker, as he stared at the floor. Anger flowed through his body and he could hear Deceit's attempts at calming him.

"You're an idiot!"

"Huh?... Well, you're a jerk!"

"You know, you were a lot nicer when you first talked to me in Seoul!"

"You were older than me in my mind then!"

"I still am! You're only 11!"

Conversations halted, and their bodies turned away, both pairs of arms crossed and their heads held high.

Even so, the young Preston thought she was okay.

Every other time, that is.

* * *

><p>More pages of crap. ._. I apologize sosososososo much...<p>

Next chapter will be the second challenge, and yeah, It'll be Rin VS Aida. C'mon it was obvious.

Hako-chi's mysteries are beginning to reveal. One reason why she must be serious and manipulating is stated, but that isn't the most important reason and this chapter focuses more on Jaiden and Aida. Next time, there'll be more Rin. I wanted to explore Jaiden's mind. He may seem like an immature brat that takes things with rage and anger, and he can't describe anything that well XD But I still love him X3

Excuses on why I couldn't update earlier start now!

-I was buried to the tip of my nose with HW. That stuff refuses to be ignored. I've had a lot of family drama still not being solved. Not fun and not going into detail. I wanted to draw up designs for Leon, Rin, Aida, Jaiden and the newcomer. I couldn't rest until that was done and details were punched out.

Nearly everything I've mentioned here about Aida was thought by YOU GUYS! Some of you all said to make her the chosen of Earth. One person PMed me to named her something beginning with "A" and another said to have her have a middle name of Emmalina. Chaos mentioned Spain and I grabbed that thought and hugged it to death. I recently made a friend on XBOX at John's house, and he's from Spain. He constantly switches from Spanish to English, and has no control over it so I put that in XD her hair was an idea through another PM and the Spanish flag was John's idea. Another someone told me for her to knock some sense into Jaiden (y'know not physically) and Chanty wanted her to be 11. Yeah.

So that's Aida. She was all quiet and ignored Jaiden to make sure he stayed long enough, and she only went up to him because she knew who he was looking for. Her spirit isn't fully revealed to her because of her shackles, and only talks to her through her dreams.

To answer something from blackcatneko999: No, Jaiden's not a chosen one. Good guess though! And hmmm... does it seem like Jaiden has something for her? Spaniards are amazing, I give them that~! So are Koreans! Is it young love? Or a foolish stupid attraction you may have felt on the playground? XD

Also, Asian rap is amazing. Just cuz.

I hope Aida's okay. I hope this chapter's not stupid. I hope I don't have to raise the rating because of Jaiden's pottymouth.

Also, go worship ChaosHasCome, if you don't already. She writes amazing drabbles you should check out, and The Flip Side of Perfection is getting better and better as the plot thickens. I don't care if you hate KyouMado, go read it. It's just that awesome.

*Dodges bricks and gun shots* DON'T HATE ME FOR THIS STUFF ;-;

So yeah!


	8. Chapter 8: Heading to The 2nd Challenge!

Not much to say. I won't ever own Beyblade because if I did Rin and Jaiden would make cameos a lot and fuck with the plot on accident XD They do that in this story. :D Maybe because the story's about them... huh.

Nile does the same, cuz he will play a part later and I woke in the middle of the night with an idea with him, and I ended up writing the scene before I even updated this part. If I do the math, the scene should pop up around Chapter 12-13 if the story progresses that far XD Man I'm aiming too high X3

And I'm not that great in Math, if I was I'd be in Trig XD

Also before I make this not any longer and procrastinate some more: I had a really silly dream yesterday after having the sickest dissection-in-bio-induced headache ever. A Cardverse AU for Metal Fight Beyblade O.O U-Umm excuse me but I think it's the correct term. For those who don't know what that is, it's kinda based off of _Alice in Wonderland_(Or it could be vice-versa) In which there are kingdoms for each of the card suits: Clubs, Diamonds, Spades, Hearts. In my dream, Kyouya was the "King of Hearts" (No he didn't obsessively cut people's heads off, he was a strict ruler though. He was the king of hearts because he essentially stole a LOT of girls' "hearts" when they watched the show XD He did it to me!) while Gingka was the "King of Dias". I didn't see the other two suits, but I did see the newest visitor to Wonderland: Madoka as "Alice". She later met the oddest group: Tsubasa as the "White Rabbit", Benkei as the "Mad Hatter" Demure as the "March Hare". Yuu and Kenta as "Tweedledee and Tweedledum". And surprise surprise, my little Rin as the "Dormouse". The ones who were animal-like just had the ears and tails of their animals. They directed Madoka to the nearest kingdom, Hearts, where she met the "Chesire Cat" and the King's right-hand man, Nile. (Why Nile was the Cat and not Kyouya was odd to me, but I went with it) He led her to the castle and she met Kyouya. It was revealed that Tsubasa, Benkei, and Demure were also part of the King's court and Rin was a messenger between all four kingdoms, but she preferred Hearts and Dias(which was Diamonds, if ya couldn't tell) Yuu and Kenta were actually visiting on behalf of Dias. When Dias was mentioned, Kyouya started getting irritable and that's when my dream ended and I woke up to watch the new episode of Metal Fight XDD

Tell me what you think of my dream ;D It's kinda dumb I know XD It goes completely off-plot of the fairytale and when I woke up I was surprised I remembered it XD I was hoping for some Hikaru, or Ryuuga or Sora or Masamune, but maybe they live in some other kingdom XD I say let Ryuuga be the "King of Spades"! *shot muliple times*

Okay I had a lot to say.

* * *

><p>She had forgotten the softness of a warm bed until she stepped off the plane, into Kathmandu and checked into a hotel next to the airfield. Her night of rest in Kanming was for naught, since Hako accidentally nabbed the wrong tickets and she had to take an earlier flight. The feeling of having a roof over her head was somewhat odd, but refreshing nonetheless.<p>

Then again, Rin hadn't given it much though due to the fact she collapsed onto the bed and sleep had overtaken her immediately.

Her awakening, however, wasn't so pleasant.

The clock beside her said it was early, far too early. She was used to going to sleep when the moon and stars did and rising just as late. Whenever Madoka allowed her, of course.

But, the clock glared at her with its bright red numbers, and her drowsiness was replaced with an odd numb feeling, one unfamiliar and completely unwelcome.

She supposed she would have to get up now.

Though no voice, neither the deep, firm and kind one of her partner, or the high-pitched childish voice of her sprite, called to her to lift herself from the warmth that was the bed, she guessed she would never do it if she didn't now.

And when she lifted her torso with her elbows, that odd numb feeling turned into something far more unpleasant and more _excruciating_ so suddenly, it took her a full minute before her mind completely registered it.

_Pain_.

So much _pain_.

_Everywhere_.

Her arms were stifling, as she noticed the now uncomfortable fabric of the blanket mingled with the various cuts she didn't know existed. Her torso was throbbing along with her legs, and her heart was pounding rapidly she didn't know what to do. She felt the immense feeling surge as she tried moving, rubbing her legs together and feeling what she thought were blisters on her feet. Her hands were completely numb, and she felt awkward as she moved the blanket, the fabric again stinging _everywhere_. Her back felt bent forward and she tried arching it backward, to realize it only threw her into a new wave of pain.

She managed to stagger out of bed, and yelped when her feet fell against the carpeted floor. She stumbled and was nearly brought to her knees, grabbing the bed post for support.

How did this happen?

Was she that inured to pain during that week of traveling on her own? Was she that ecstatic about being on her own, only having to rely on her own strength that she hadn't felt the toll the coasts and forests would have on her?

Now remembering the odd stares she recieved on the plane and when she checked in, she realized...

Maybe she was.

And maybe she couldn't bring herself to care.

Not that she wasn't worried, the dried up cuts on her arms felt so _weird_, and the yellowing of young bruises made her feel self-conscious. Plus, not to the mention the most important thing.

It_ hurt_. A heck of _a lot_.

But these were the results of her labor, her hard work and she nearly jumped with unrealistic joy when she found _it was still only beginning_. She knew it would never be easy, and this was the proof. Maybe she was just thinking too much, but she was proud of the wounds and soreness running through her.

Laughing silently to herself, she could be so silly sometimes, she managed to limp to the bathroom for a shower. The feel of cool water refreshed her almost immediately and made her think of other things besides the soreness running through her being. She minded her small wounds and as she dried herself off, she made sure to treat everything she could.

Bandages were wrapped from the palm of her hands to near her elbows, the same for her lower legs. A sleeveless black shirt covered her neck and a shallow gash she thought must've been the result of her sleeping near a big bush the other day. Over it was a white and gray hoodie that stopped just above her midriff. Rin rolled her hoodie sleeves up so the bandages were on full display. Pale gray pants that were also rolled up, mostly because it was pretty warm in Kathmandu, adorned her bandaged legs and she tried pacing once again to get more used to walking.

Madoka could kill her if she saw these injuries, and force her to stay in bed for _days_ if she was back in Metal City. Her guy friends could handle it, as Madoka was familiar with them getting hurt from intense battles and Kami knows what else.

But she was the weak one, not used to pain. The one who hid behind her much more cheerful and confident friend.

Sheltered.

Rin shifted a little, noticing that now that she thought about it, what seemed normal once—staying in bed and enjoying the addicting warmth of her blankets, taking casual walks around the city park, and training for only an hour a day—now seemed incredibly _lazy_.

She realized that in only a week, by herself and Gryphon(with a little spirit tagging along, but you get the point) she outgrew the lifestyle she created in Metal City. It was far too easy, too laidback.

She wanted a life of challenges and where every battle was one when she had to give it her all.

For the second time in her life, the first only when she first launched her bonded bey, she felt like a true blader.

* * *

><p>Jaiden hadn't expected much from Kathmandu, mostly because he assured himself that he <em>would not<em> step foot out of the airport. God forbid he was accidentally enlisted to help some _deaf Frenchman_.

He and Aida had settled for sleeping in the airport, or at least, her sleeping and him keeping himself up trying to punch out the chapter in Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem ~Heroes of Light and Shadow~ on Maniac Mode. Fire Emblem wasn't that bad of a series, and he decided he didn't even care if it was in Japanese. Not like it would ever come out in English.

The girl beside him stirred, and he saved quickly and put his handheld away.

"Mornin'."

He watched as she put her hands up, making the motion as she would if she could rub her eyes, and then that same disappointed frown when she found she couldn't.

"Ah. _Buenos dias_, Jaiden."

He heard the frustration in her voice and decided to leave her alone for a bit, but not before informing her.

"It's 8 right now. Our plane will be at 10, and there's one right after that one at 10:30. We still have a few hours to ourselves so you might want to catch some more rest."

She seemed to deepen her frown and shook her head slowly.

"J-Jaiden? Can you help me with something?"

He also felt the impending doom in that question. He felt the stubbornness and wondered how much pride she had to swallow to ask for his help.

He smiled, maybe a little too smugly when he answered, "Sure, I guess. What's up?"

A payphone. He was asked to escort her to a payphone. A menial task, yes, but he was content with the fact she was _forced_ to ask for help when she _couldn't_ do that without him.

Then he nearly kicked himself for thinking that, and hunched his shoulders as he grabbed his bag and she did hers, her other hand clutching the fabric of his sleeve while he moved her towards the phone he had seen next to a bookstore in the airport.

Seriously. A bookstore.

How stupid.

She also asked him to dial a number for her, uncertain if she was okay to do it herself, she _hated_ being uncertain. If she was unsure, she'd kick away logic and continue her own way.

The shackles, however, forced her not put that policy away.

Jaiden punched in the numbers for her and as the operator put him through he realized she was trying to call home. The phone was finally ringing after the dumb questions he was put through, and he handed it to the Spaniard, and disappeared into the store so she could have her privacy. He last saw her put the receiver to her ear and then tried to distract himself with a novelization of some shonen manga he saw in a store of Metal City.

He didn't get far into the book, mostly due to it boring him,(or maybe he just wasn't interested in it. Manga was never his thing.) when he heard the distinct click of the receiver meeting its holder and he waited a bit before subtly peeking out and around the corner to the payphone.

In the course of the feeble minutes he had been waiting, his I-Pod had been turned on and earphones were now in their rightful place.

Aida was facing him, her back to the phone she was just using. She was biting her lower lip, as if desperately trying to hold something back. The 11-year old boy gingerly took his earphones off and let them fall around his neck.

"A-Aida?"

"_Mierda_. Is it bad to miss them this much?"

He figured she meant her family as she crouched, and sat against the wall, hugging her knees. He heard more whispering in Spanish and swore, gentle_ sobs_ were coming when she buried her head in her arms.

Great, now he wound up in _this mess_.

He hated it when girls cried.

It wasn't that he was a horrible person, or rude—...Okay, _maybe._ It was just really _really_ awkward for him. It made him feel like he was totally screwed and did something incredibly stupid/terrible(which, in his defense, _was __**not**__ the case_... mostly.) It felt like any passerby would blame him for something he didn't do.

Which happened once back home. He was reaching for a game—Persona 3 Portable—in a store and a little girl had taken a kid game(what was it, the one with the cooking mother?) from the bottom of a high-stacked pile. Gravity did its thing, and as the poor closest living thing to the bawling child, innocent videgamer Jaiden was blamed—and without much discussion, he might add.

After that, (and that was _years ago_, mind you.) he would simply turn away and leave at the slightest sight of tears. Sure, he was called 'heartless' and 'cold', but it was natural to him. He still didn't want to get caught up in the mess that was a crying girl. He just... functioned that way.

Not like that would change, right?

But back to the matter at hand, he was lost for words. The beat of his music rang softly in his ears as he stared at the tight ball that was the person who would lead him to his sister. He checked, side to side, to see if anyone was looking, ignoring the cashier in the bookstore who looked at him like he was about to do something suspicious, and sat down next to her. She seemed to notice his action and started in place.

It wasn't like he understood girls, so he had no clue what to do. He assumed she'd want to tearfully explain loving memories of her family. She probably had a whole bunch of siblings and they all got along with their two loving parents who cared for them more than anything in the whole _fuckin'_ world.

Instead, she sniffed and rubbed the tear stains that formed on her cheeks.

Wow... Stubborn.

Oh come on, just dish everything out. It's not everyday he offered to be this nice.

When she picked her head up just the slightest, Jaiden witnessed the trembling of of her bottom lip, and for once he was glad for the shackles, if the small ache in his chest was any clue, how _worse_ would it be if he could see her eyes? Tears began to mark her cheeks again and he felt even worse.

He mentally attacked himself again for his thoughts, but he wanted to reach out and pat her head gently, mumble something comforting and offer to get her something to keep her mind off of her sadness. Due to his pride, which even he hated at times, and the fact it would be so _incredibly awkward_, he didn't. He just sat there. Like a idiot.

In a attempt to do _something_, he fiddled with his I-Pod, and then nudged one half of his earphones against her arm. Her 'gaze' seemed to catch it, and she took it in her hands. Navy blue eyes caught the faintest movement of her lips, something along the lines of 'me?' and he grumbled out a confirmation.

As the earphone was settled in her ear, he tugged the other in his own, pressing play.

Aida, despite the tears still in her eyes, nearly giggled at the song choice. It was a song she'd never heard—a rock song. Not exactly what you offer a crying 11-year old girl, but she found that it fit the boy sitting next to her. Nevertheless, along with the boy she as traveling with drumming the beat with his fingers, she listened, silently thankful for his effort.

Not that he would ever hear a thank you.

Yeah, she was stubborn, but so was he.

Soon enough, the urge to cry stopped, and relief washed over her. She knew she would see her family again, but she was young, it was normal for her to get homesick, right? How many 11-year olds could say they had to travel hundreds of miles from home blinded and searching for someone to battle?

Her misfortunes faded as she lost herself to the rhythym and beat of Jaiden's playlist. She disappeared into her own little world. Her problems never went away, and she guessed they never truly would.(Life was a course of problems, no?) However, right there with her traveling partner—acquaintance, friend?—she was unaffected by outside surroundings.

She never felt so connected to _anyone_, as she did to him just then. She noticed she was tuning into the music—with him.

She decided to _try_ and be more honest with him... Maybe they could become friends.

* * *

><p>"Oh, you should check the weak point just under the where the Spin Track clicks into the Performance Tip. It's unnoticeable to the naked eye and it's real easy to get dust stuck in there, y'know?"<p>

Rin nodded and turned her bey over, a portable cleaning kit (not even half of what Madoka has, really) on the side as she focused on where she needed to clean. Madoka had wondered why Gryphon was beat up. Rin explained the whole battle with Leon, but kept the whole seeing spirits and challenges and the thing to herself.

Well, first off, she was congratulated, Madoka happily listened to how the usually shy blader won. Then, as Rin was expecting, a lecture on how careless she was on letting Gryphon be burned so easily. Rin proceeded to apologize several times, and soon enough the two friends were talking about how they were. Nothing new happened in Metal City, except a few old friends visiting. Wang Hu Zhong managed to visit, saying they just finished a training trip, and with a sly tone, Madoka teased Rin about making new friends. Rin laughingly put the teasing aside and burst into story, telling her how Hong Kong was, how Wang Hu Zhong were amazing, how she had three other friends to introduce Madoka to, how the view was amazing and _the forests! _The wildlife of China was simply wonderful and she wished Madoka could be there to see everything and _oh wait 'till she saw how close the stars were!_

A short laugh was heard and Rin flushed, she was rambling wasn't she?

"Well, look who's having fun!"

Rin managed a shy nod and both girls grinned on both sides of the web cam. Madoka continued her inspection of Gryphon through the web cam, seeing things Rin obviously missed and the American-born blader wondered how the heck she did that, especially over a somewhat rough web cam.

When she finished Madoka put aside her cleaning kit, that was used purely for demostration and her expression turned serious.

"So, you had fun in Hong Kong, where are you headed next?"

Rin had made sure to ask an attendant at the gate where the plane was headed, which caused her to get an odd look and a reluctant answer.

"I'm heading to Lukla, Nepal. I'll be going in a really small plane, since it's close to Kathmandu."

Madoka tilted her head for a second, before looking away from the camera and from Rin's guess, at a different part of her computer screen. She was typing, and Rin waited patiently for her.

"Lukla, Rin?"

"Umm... Yes, that's right."

"You do know what the airport there, right? I mean—"

Madoka was cut off by the ringing of a bell, which came from upstairs.

"Customers?"

Madoka shook her head, and stated that the store was closed. Madoka then spoke her assumptions that it was probably one of the guys, probably Gingka, and that she would call them to say hi.

Rin fidgeted in her seat at the airport computer, and flushed a deeper red. Not that she didn't want to see Madoka's friends, but you could say they...

Intimidated her. A lot.

So she praised her luck when she saw people beginning to board at the gate closest to her, her gate.

"A-actually Madoka! I'd l-love to, but my plane's boarding now! I-I better get going! I'll talk to you later, like next week, I promise! Say hi to my mother and Jaiden! Oh, and to everyone else! Bye!"

She nearly yelled that out, and she swore that was the fastest she ever spoke in her life. Madoka held a confused gaze for a moment, trying to register her whole outburst and as Rin went to turn off the camera, she yelled back.

"Okay, Rin! See you later! I'll hold you to that promise! Don't do anything stupid!"

The screen went black on both sides and Rin sighed in relief. Saved. She grabbed her bag, and the new belt and gloves she brought at a local store. No longer did Gryphon have to ride in her pocket. She strapped the belt on and tugged on the gloves, the bag bouncing against her now better back as she ran onto the plane.

Though something tugged at her mind, back there on the screen, she saw the familiar blue and orange of Hagane Gingka and the pine green she could only recognize as Tategami Kyouya, but there was someone else. On that staircase in the corner, she could've sworn she saw the beginnings of colorful garb she couldn't put her finger on.

… Oh, well.

She had a plane to be on and a challenge waiting.

Nothing was wrong with Lukla, right?

* * *

><p>Aida was better and he now had his earphones back to himself, the only thing that annoyed him...<p>

Was as soon as they stepped on the plane, Aida chose to conk out again and use him as a pillow.

Jaiden Preston was not a pillow.

No way in hell.

Okay, just this once.

But never again. Just this once.

After assuring himself his pride wouldn't be injured anymore(pshhh, yeah right), he settled into the old seat of the small plane. He held his head with the palm of his hand as he stared, unimpressed by the mountains in view. He and Aida decided to take the later plane, since they were hungry and hadn't eaten since early yesterday. He shut his eyes in boredom and was glad this plane ride would be shorter. He decided he liked traveling on foot better. Sure, his arms were sort of sore and there were cuts on his cheek right under his eye and on his legs that were annoyingly numb, but it was still better than sitting still.

Out of seemingly nowhere, an annoying pattern of small pats on his plane window began. Out of annoyance, he opened his eyes to see the sky a darker shade of grayish-blue and drops of water sliding down the window slowly.

Rain? But it had just been sunny five seconds ago! He hoped the weather did nothing to the flight, but soon enough an announcement came that the plane would be landing soon, so he supposed it was normal. Something odd struck in his peripheral vision then, passengers falling from their seats, on their knees and curling into a praying position.

Okay, it was only one, and he was hugging the person next to him who was holding onto a cross, but the scene was odd enough to catch his attention.

He decided not to question it, odd as it may be, and turned back to the window. In the darker stage of rain, outlined through the raindrops in between two high mountains, he saw exactly what the plane was headed to.

He knew why that person was praying and he swore to Dear God if Aida wasn't on his shoulder, he'd be down on his knees as well.

"W... We're landing on THAT?"

* * *

><p>Rin was a deep thinker. A deep thinker, dreamer, stargazer, and a blader. She was still getting used to the latter after eleven whole years of having her partner.<p>

So naturally, she took the 80 minutes to Lukla as time to reflect and disappear into the world of her imagination.

She thought about her past challenge, and sincerely wished she could be with Leon and Yue for a longer piece of time. She thought about the other friends she met quickly and grew to love just as fast. She wondered if Wang Hu Zhong's training was going well? How strong would they be when she saw them again? How strong would she be? Would Mujakina still be there, as tsundere as ever?

Rin breathed out a laugh at her term for her friend, and heard the deep laugh of her bey and smiled. No words were exchanged as she thought some more.

She thought about her third challenge. Hako—who was an avid sleeper apparently—had said it would be frightening, and a loss in either of the two challenges could kill her chances. Was it a free-for-all? Would she see Leon again? Would she have to battle him again? What if there was a totally strong blader that OHKO'd her! What would happen if she lost?

She remembered Hako's anxiousness to stay away from the conversations of penalties. She already assured her she would be fine, as would everyone around her, but what of Hako? Would the hyper little girl be okay? How long ago was it when Light had won a tournament? Was her element at risk? According to every cartoon, anime, manga, and story she had ever read and/or watched, didn't the world sort of implode on itself if any element disappeared?

'_You think too much, Rin.'_

Rin now realized her rambling and boat load of questions in her mind. She snapped out of it and shook her head, thankful for her loyal griffin's interruption. Silence in her mind made her thoughts run wild, and she was relieved she had someone to snap her out of it at anytime.

In truth, she was afraid of what silence could do to her, when her imagination ran wild and she blew thing out of proportion. She chided herself for doing it again, it was _too weak_ an action for a _blader_.

That's what she was, that's what she fought for. She was a blader.

"Ne, Gryphon?"

Rin lowered her voice to a small whisper, allowing her mind to pause for a bit and for her to try not to scare herself insane.

'_Lost in your thoughts again?'_

Rin nodded slightly and smiled sheepishly. "S-sorta. Mind if... I ask you something?"

'_Yes? What's bothering you?'_

"What do you fight for Gryphon?"

The black-hued beast stared from his place into those pale eyes that haven't aged a day from the day their deal was sealed. The sparkled, like they _wanted_ and _needed_ to know, like it was important to drag the answer from him and his wise soul.

His problem was that the answer was the same and would always stay that way and when the sharp eagle eyes of gray met pale violet, he could only give her the answer she would never need.

"I don't know."

That lavender shade turned darker and she frowned, dissatisfied. Despite this, she nodded and turned back to the window and mumbled a soft, "That was a dumb question. I'm s-sorry Gryphon..."

...

That apology sent the spirit's own mind into a whirl of thoughts.

Was that answer true? Didn't he know? Shouldn't he know? What would he fight for? Pride? Glory? Fame? The thrill? Honor?

The latter seemed appealing. He was an honorable spirit, and in his state, that seemed enough for him. He was fair, noble and fought bravely for honor. He could just tell his blader that.

Somewhere in his thoughts, he noticed that the very concept was even more ridiculous. It was hard—_impossible, ruthless, unbearable—_to know he messed up and imagine the look on the still young girl's face.

He never wanted to, but understood he had anyway.

(_So he thought and thought, but as he had told her many times, if you think too much, your mind gets blocked and you simply can not think anymore._)

So he wanted to take it back, say he was wrong. He wanted to tell her he fought for the same reasons many beys he encountered already knew and embraced. His loyalty was no different than Leone to his Kyouya, or Pegasus to Gingka, or even Gasher to Madoka.

He wanted to say, to tell her he didn't do this for her mother or her father, not for some old promise made by their younger selves.

He did this because she was herself. She was Rin. She was his blader.

He fought for his blader.

That simple statement that took him _eleven long years_ (maybe he never dawdled on it, he figured he should have) to figure out, what he wanted to tell her, no matter how surprising and _cheesy_, as her sibling would call it, was never said.

He kept silent as he stared from his Face Bolt and laid, his wings a weight folding into his sides, watching his young blader, still seeing the younger child he first met in those saddened eyes as they watched the storm clouds approach.

Eyes widened and a gasp fell into the resounding atmosphere of the small compartment they were in on the plane.

"W-w-w-we're landing o-o-on t-that!"

It was 11:20.

* * *

><p><em>Tenzing-Hillary Airport. The only airport of Lukla, Nepal. Named in honor of Sir Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay, the first two to reach the very peak of Mount Everest. Only accessible to to small airplanes and helicopters, the ever-changing weather is a huge factor between sunny Kathmandu and rainy Lukla. Hundreds of people venture to this airport to start the climb to the Mount Everest base Camp. In 2010, it was named the world's most extreme airport with its single 1500 ft long, 65ft wide runway and hill right smack in the middle. The runway ends just off the edge of the cliff, and tourist and pilots everyday risk diving into 2000 ft drop into the valley below.<em>

_In short, this airport scared the crap out of me._

* * *

><p>Stare. Stare into death. The huge drop and the sudden appearance of the shortest landing runway she'd ever seen.<p>

She swore, if she wasn't clutching her pendant and her bey as hard as the wounded palms could, she'd faint. Right here. She'd be unconsious as her body was thrown into that beautiful valley between those amazing mountains, which the sunslight flashed on _just right_ as it fleeted into the storm clouds.

Oh Kami. Oh Kami. Oh dear _Kami._

"Are you okay, miss?"

Her head flew away from the window so fast it was enough to maybe cuase whiplash, or was she just that scared? It was then she noticed the person sitting next to her, only across the aisle. Kind red eyes, dark skin, and the darkest shade of ebony she had ever seen in messy tussles perched on his head. He seemed younger than her, but maybe it was the curled up stature he was in.

"A-ah..."

"You're afraid of the landing, right?"

She then realized how soft the boy was, he was even softer than her! She wondered how she hadn't seen him there before, was he always in that seat? She chided herself for overlooking him.

Answering her question, she mimicked his posture, hands never letting go of the two precious metals in them, and nodded.

"It's okay... This pilot's trained especially for this... We haven't had an accident for years..."

Despite this boy's reassuring, she was still scared for her life. Oh, how she wanted to turn this plane back, back home and jump right into the arms of her mother and her best friend, to hide away.

Then she remembered who was she becoming and steeled her resolve, focusing on the boy.

"O-oh... I see. I-I'm Rin."

"My name is Kodami Nadeem. My brother usually calls me Kodi."

They shook hands, and the two kindred soft souls spoke as the landing came closer. The dark boy noticed the trembling of the female and dug into a pocket in his bag. Out came a small cookie wrapped in a napkin and a bottle of water. He handed them to her, happy to help her since she actually noticed him there.

"Here... this will help you."

She gazed at him questionably, and he insisted, stating bread and cookies helped when one is nervous or scared, and then informed her to make sure to drink afterwards. No doubt was hidden in the shades of pale pale red and lavender in her large eyes, and she took them willingly. He smiled a soft smile and watched as she took a small bite and drank a light sip. That was perfect.

Rin was curious at the flavor of the cookie, it wasn't bad, but not all that great. her mother did always state that Rin could eat anything, as long as someone told her it was edible.

She remembered Madoka yelling at her, and Gryphon soon taking her friend's place doing the job and her shoulders slumped slowly when the cool liquid slid down her throat.

She saw kind red eyes before everything went black.

...

She woke up in a darker place then usual, and instead of panicking and trying to run or shrink away to nothing, she saw the kind red eyes and sheepish smile of Kodi and her train of panicking thoughts was instantly halted. She noted how in this dark atmosphere, he seemed to blend in even better than he did on the plane.

"Rin... you're up. I'm sorry, but those cookies were a gift from my brother. They have a harmless ingredient in them that puts the consumer to sleep for a little. It helps when I can't sleep at night."

The smile assured her and from the lack of burning destruction and the fact she was on a couch, comfy and completely fine with the exception of her past wounds, she could conclude the plane did not crash and he had helped her calm down.

"I-it's okay, Kodi... T-thank you, you helped me, really."

"Oi, Kodi! She up yet?"

A loud voice called from below and Rin jumped startled. Kodi frowned slightly and responded a confirmation. Loud footsteps, and what Rin could guess, someone skipping steps on stairs filled her eardrums until the door opened.

"Kodami, I keep telling you, you need to be louder, little brother! I could barely hear you down there! You're lucky I'm used to your mumbling!" The older male who loudly entered the room ruffled the ebony tussles of the boy, and then turned to the now red Rin.

Kodi's brother was attractive, any girl with any sense could notice that. Slanted large eyes of cool grayish-blue, like the storm clouds about to bring fresh rain hidden behind long lashes when his eyes were half-lidded. A dark shade of skin with the same tussles as Kodi. His, however, was neater and an amazing _three_ colors. The majority of it was chocolate brown, as it faded into a slow gradient of a charcoal that could rival Kodi's. At the end, as if freshly dipped with the greatest care, his bangs were a ghostly silver-white, enough to make even Ootori Tsubasa jealous!

(Of course, she'd soon realize that was her teenage mind speaking, and that she couldn't believe how stupid she was for thinking that way.)

The garb he adorned was amazing as well, and Rin felt her stutter come back with a clear vengeance as introductions were made.

Arav Nadeem, 16-years old and older brother of Kodi. Only family they had and this small place was their home in Lukla.

"Well, then. Welcome, Rin Ejito, to Lukla. I see you met our wonderfully infamous runway."

* * *

><p>Jaiden stretched his sore shoulder as he stepped from the small plane. Why was he so scared? The landing was fine and the pilot managed to stay a good distance away from that... drop.<p>

Aida was a few ways off, yelling at some pair of brothers he supposed. (Ha, like he wanted to get mixed in with _that_) He waited impatient for the girl, scanning the area with Deceit. The humanoid bey spirit reported of the small village, and the surrounding hiking trails. the humanoid also reported, to Jaiden's surprise that half of the village, it being divided by the stupid runway, was damaged heavily. He looked to his left, seeing smoke appeared from behind the airport's information tower. He decided he should go ask the locals, but Aida stepped in front of him, fully rested and her mouth pulled into a frown, mumbling threats and curses he was glad weren't aimed towards him.

"_Vamos_. We're going to look for your sister now. Hurry up, or I leave you behind, Preston."

She began moving, walking quickly through the vilage and reached the edge in the matter of minutes, Jaiden following as well. He saw nothing but trees covering the mountainside and frowned.

"And where, tell me, the fuck are we going to _find_ my sister, Ramirez?"

He saw a play of a smile and knew he was in deep shit.

"In _my_ element. _La tierra y el bosque._"

It was 11:50.

* * *

><p>Back in her city, Madoka sighed at the black screen and slowed turned her chair to see the three male bladers she knew as her friends.<p>

Emerald eyes shined along with the black and golden bey with amusement, it only being a tad scratched and dirtied.

The _other_ two however, where drenched in dust, dirt and mud. She didn't just mean the beys either. She swore that the pine green hair held brush that made it look even more like a bush. The black sleeveless hoodie was ripped along with the familiar blue vest on the either.

She really wondered why Kyouya and Gingka weren't charged with destroying the forests of Japan yet.

With a small huff, she took Leone and Pegasus, feeling the massively scratched metal and the grit inside. The weight of both were _way_ off and the apologies of the lion and flying horse inside weren't enough.. There went her night of sleep.

As she silently refused Gingka's company or conversation, she (angrily) thanked the foreigner for stopping them in their battle to kill their beys and before she opening her cleaning kit she wondered if Rin really wasn't doing something as stupid.

* * *

><p>*dies in 1 million different ways*<p>

HOLY CRAP.

GOOD GOD.

I TOTALLY SUCK MAN.

I'm sincerely sorry for my lateness. I've been gone forever! DX God my thoughts are everywhere and I dunno what to say and GOOD GOD.

A crapton happened in this chapter. Introduced how homesick and how Aida _really_ needed a break. (If me of Johnny type up _her _story, you'll see why she was so upset.) I really wanted to type up a Jaiden attempt at comfort. .MADDENING.

I also introduced two new important characters, Arav and Kodi.

To be frank, I hate them. So much. I also love to hate them. Yeah.

GUESS WHY I HATE THEM PPL ;D.

No, Rin does not and _will not_ like Arav. Don't tell me YOU'VE never stared at someone a bit too long because they were good-looking? Yeah, I know I have. I don't like it, but I think it's sort of human. So no. Never. NEVER.

Or Kodi for that matter. Chanty and her ideas, man.

I showed you guys a bit of Gryphon. Our dynamic duo is slowly figuring out why they battle! Will Gryphon regret not telling Rin?

Hako was absent, because I felt she needed to be. Also, I know I promised Aida's and Rin's battle here, but I reached _6 damn thousand_ words and decided _oh hell no_.

Nothing more to say, so I'll leave you with this stupid question!

**How do YOU say Horuseus? Do you say it like the dummy English dub does? Or are you leaning towards the Japanese way? Hor-seus? Or Hurr-ruuu-see-us? J-Just asking.**

So yeah, bye! Don't hate me! D:


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